1. technology and computing
2. hardware
3. computer

Y2K
rep /
3
xx pag
How to Prepare for
Y2K
and Other Crises
BY VANCE FERRELL
THE MOST COMPLETE COVERAGE
IN THE SMALLEST AMOUNT OF SPACE
SIMPLE YET EXTREMELY PRACTICAL
PLUS A SECOND SECTION
ON THE INHERENT DANGERS IN Y2K
CRISES ARE COMING
AND Y2K WILL NOT BE THE BIGGEST
Pilgrims Books
PB–961
Preparing for Y2K and Other Crises
by Vance Ferrell
Published by Pilgrims Books
Beersheba Springs, TN 37305 USA
Printed in the United States of America
Cover and Text Copyright © 1999
by Pilgrims Books
“A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and
hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and
are punished.”
—Proverbs 22:3
“Come, My people, enter thou into thy
chambers, and shut thy doors about thee.
Hide thyself as it were for a little moment,
until the indignation be overpast.”
—Isaiah 26:20
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of
things not seen as yet, moved with fear,
prepared an ark to the saving of His house.”
—Hebrews 11:7
“Let them which be in Judea flee into the
mountains.”
—Matthew 24:16
FOR ADDITIONAL COPIES: One copy - $5.50, plus $1.50 p&h /
Two copies - $7.25 each, plus $2.00 p&h
Ten copies - $2.00 each, plus $3.00 p&h
In Tennessee, add 8.25% of cost of books / Foreign, add 20% of cost of books
3
Contents
— PART ONE —
PREPARING FOR Y2K
AND SIMILAR EMERGENCIES
The Background of the Problem
Dates to Beware of
5
7
Areas of Special Concern
7
— PART ONE —
PREPARING FOR Y2K
AND SIMILAR EMERGENCIES
1 - Basic Preparation
2 - Water
3 - Food
9
10
14
4 - Food from the Garden
5 - Heating Fuel
17
19
6 - Alternate Electricity Sources
7 - Alternate Lighting
25
8 - Clothing and Bedding
9 - Preparing the House
10 - Household Items
11 - Sanitation
27
26
25
26
21
How to Prepare for Y2K
4
12 - Special Items
27
13 - Medical Supplies
14 - First Aid Kit
28
28
15 - Household Equipment
29
16 - Alternative Communications 29
17 - Electronic Equipment
18 - Tools and Supplies
19 - Survival Kit
30
30
31
20 - Transportation
32
21 - Important Documents
22 - Personal Finances
33
33
23 - Possibility of Relocation
34
24 - Other Preparations to Make
34
25 - Still More Things to Consider
26 - Home Protection
36
27 - Special Catalogs
36
28 - Barter Items
35
37
29 - And More Things to Consider
37
Appendix 1:
Preparation Time Line
38
Appendix 2:
Voltage Reference Guide
40
— PART TWO —
A CLOSER LOOK AT Y2K
AND HOW DANGEROUS IT MIGHT BE
Facts You Should Be Aware Of
42
5
Introduction
THE BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM
The Wall Street Journal calls it the most expensive industrial
accident of all time. Others had said it was only a bump on the
road of progress, while others maintain it is the end civilization
for a decade. Whatever it is, it is going to affect you.
Y2K (the millennium bug, or Year 2000 technology problem)
was created in the early days of computers, when memory was
scarce and expensive. Programmers took shortcuts whenever possible to save space. Instead of using a four-digit code for year dates,
a two-digit entry was used. This practice continued, long after the
need of saving space was eliminated. It had become a habit for
programmers to use the two-digit method.
The two-digit code was also used in embedded chips, which
exist in many devices which control processes. In order to illustrate the broad range of problems which could develop when the
century changes, here are some of the devices which use embedded chips:
Aerospace, aviation, alarm systems (process, security, fire, and
home), automatic teller machines (ATMs), automobile power train
control modules, automobile engine management computers, bank
vaults, business machines (postage, fax, etc.), consumer electronics, control systems (manufacturing, cryogenics, electric power),
computer motherboards (BIOS chips, RTCas on IBM PCs), clocks
(including real time clocks), communications infrastructure (financial data, etc.), elevators, energy infrastructure (oil, gas and
electric utilities), global positioning and navigation systems (in satellites, airplanes, and on the ground), food distribution, heating
and ventilation systems, air conditioning controls, household appliances, lighting controls, printing presses, process controllers,
pumps (including gas station pumps and those in buildings),
manufacturing equipment, medical equipment (including pacemakers and implanted pumps), refrigeration controls, scientific appa-
6
How to Prepare for Y2K
ratus, seawater desalinization, shipping (radar, safety, ballast, and
performance monitoring), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, telecommunications (private branch exchanges, custom premises equipment), water treatment facilities,
weapons, valves (including plumbing and HVAC).
Shell Oil estimates that a typical offshore oil rig uses approximately 10,000 embedded chips, of which approximately 12% are
not Year-200-compliant. Some chips are buried below ground where
they are inaccessible.
Perhaps that affords you a hint of the extent of the Y2K problem.
The magnitude of the risk exposure increases when one considers that there are complicated interactions among systems. A
breakdown in one can ricochet to many others. For example, it is
believed that food shipments may stop because trucks are dispatched by computers.
To add to the problem, each chip maker is trying to solve the
Y2K problem his own way, and the system may fail because the
fixes may not be compatible with one another. Failures in one system can induce failures in other systems via computer networks.
Software non-compliance can cause both compliant and non-compliant embedded systems to fail.
Estimates place the assessment, repair, and testing phases of
a Y2K conversion effort for a medium-sized non-nuclear plant at
21 months. It will take 30 to 40 million dollars to locate, repair,
and test the 500 or more non-compliant systems out of the tens of
thousands in a typical plant.
According to Mark Frautschi, Ph.D., a systems analyst, the only
certainty is that systems observed to be functioning normally after
January 1, 2000—are not guaranteed to be Year-200-compliant!
They may fail years in the future, depending on when their internal clocks were set (their epoch dates). He adds that every power
grid has a “hot spare,” which goes into action when the system
breaks down. But embedded chip disfunction will take that down
too—and there will be, what the electrical industry calls, a “system
black.” There will simply be no electricity; and, with all those faulty
chips embedded, how soon will the problem be fixed?
Another expert says the most practical solution for businesses
(and families) in America—is to begin the practice of going a week
without electricity, running water, etc., and learning to improvise
without them! Such advice only points out the seriousness of the
Special Dates and Areas of Concern
7
looming 2000 crisis.
DATES TO BEWARE OF
Many experts predict that the Y2K problem is more likely to
be a persistent one, over a few years, rather than a single crash at
the beginning of the century. January 1, 2000, is not the only
date in the near future that may disrupt data-processing systems. All computer programs with fiscal years that start earlier
than December 31, 1999, are suspect. Here are other dates that
could cause disruptions are the following:
January 1, 1999—This is the one-year look-ahead date into
the next century. Many computer programs process data by
looking forward one year and counting dates back from that
point. If such systems have two-digit date problems that are not
corrected in time, they may begin to malfunction or fail at the
start of, or during, 1999.
April 7, 1999—This is the 99th day of the 99th year.
August 22, 1999—This is the “GPS Rollover” date. The
Global Positioning System is a constellation of 24 low-orbiting
satellites that continually signal data that can be used to determine the exact location of any receiver on the surface of the earth.
The data are also used by some systems to establish the exact
time of day for transaction logging. The clocks on this system
report as the number of weeks since the launch of the system in
1980. On August 22, 1999, this counter will overflow and return
to 0000 (as would happen on the odometer of a car that traveled
1 million miles). At that point some systems, of equipment, that
use the GPS signals will malfunction. Among the vulnerable
devices are some cellular telephones, devices that track the
location of freight shipments, and some navigational equipment.
However, many manufacturers of such devices have built their
products to handle the rollover period correctly.
September 9, 1999 (abbreviated as 9/9/99)—A common
programming device was to enter 9999 as a signal that a stack of
data had reached its end. This signal may sometimes have
programmed on date fields, with the result that the date 9/9/99
will have a special and unintended meaning in a program. Although the incidence of 1/1/2000 problems appears to be much
greater than that of 9/9/99 problems, systems should be checked
for each.
8
How to Prepare for Y2K
February 29, 2000, the Uncommon Leap Year—The year
2000 is divisible by four and is a leap year. However, years divisible by 100 are not leap years (1900 was not) unless they are
divisible by 400 (2400 will by another leap year). Some programmers did not know about the hundred-year rule when they wrote
their original codes, and those programs will run fine in 2000.
Some programmers knew about the hundred-year rule, but not
about the four-hundred-year rule, and their programs are likely
to fail.
October 10, 2000—This is the 10-10-00.
December 31, 2000—This isthe 366th day of an uncommon
leap year. Some programs operate by counting the days in the
year. If the writers of these programs were unaware of the uncommon-leap-year situation, their systems may not fail until
December 31, 2000, the (unexpected) 366th day of the year.
AREAS OF SPECIAL CONCERN
The President’s Council on Y2K Conversion, established by
the White House, as well as a Special Senate Committee investigating the subject, have focused their attention on defining the scope
of the Y2K problem. Hearings have been conducted by the U.S.
Senate Special Committee on the year 2000 Technology problem.
They have concluded that the following eight areas appear likely to
cause the most problems:
Utilities and the national power grid
International banking and finance
Health care
Transportation
Telecommunications
Pension and mutual funds
Emergency planning
General business
Government agencies (such as IRS, defense, etc.)
Experts who spoke at the Senate hearings believe that, at the
least, there may be localized disruptions. For example, in some
areas, electrical power may be unavailable for some time. Manufacturing and production industries may be disrupted. Roads may
be closed or gridlocked if traffic signals are disrupted. Electronic
credit card transactions may not be processed. Telephone systems may not work.
9
What should you do in order to be prepared for the end of the
millennium and Y2K? In this booklet, we have attempted to provide you with that information. You will here find more information on how to get ready than in any other book of comparable
size.
Most of the items mentioned in this book—including stocking
up on foodstuffs and equipment and withdrawing money from
various accounts, are best completed before October 1999.
FOUR FACTS STAND OUT
First, a crisis is going to occur at the turn of the century.
The only question is how long it will last: a few days, a few
weeks, or several months.
Second, It is not wrong to prepare, and you should prepare.
Third, unlike nearly every coming crisis, this one primarily (but not fully) focuses on one date: January 1, 1999. We
know when the main crisis will begin.
Third, There really is no problem if we are wrong in our
estimate, and no crisis occurs. So what if we store up extra
water, food and a few other things; we will just use it up later
on. No money is lost. So what if we buy an electrical generator.
It will surely help us later; Y2K will not be the last crisis in the
future!
Fourth, it is wiser to plan for a three-month crisis, than
for a three-day crisis.
“Our confidential sources in the defense industry tell us
that one company involved in doing deeply classified government work has a two-day training course for all of its
employees, instructing them that they should prepare for a
national power blackout—not a brownout—of up to 90 days
due to Y2K. They are not predicting that great of an outage,
but they are preparing for it!”—Chuck Missler, K-Ration
Intellgience Report, June 23, 1998.
10
How to Prepare for Y2K
11
Cities Preparing
“PORTLAND DRAFTS PLANS FOR DEALING WITH Y2K: The
Ambitious Effort Includes Organizing Neighborhoods to Prepare
for Disruptions Caused by Computer Problems—Friday, February
19, 1999, By Steve Woodward of the Oregonian staff.
“This is not—repeat, not—a Y2K drill.
“City officials are drafting ambitious plans to organize Portland’s
200,000 households into small, self-sufficient units, marshaled
by potentially thousands of neighborhood leaders trained to head
off problems resulting from the Year 2000 computer problem.
“If approved and executed beginning this spring, the effort
would be one of the antion’s largest municipal Y2K preparedness
efforts.
“ ‘We’re taking this seriously,’ Mayor Vera Katz said Thursday.
‘The purpos is not to raise a tremendous amount of concern, but
to be prepared for an emergency. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.’
“Portland’s approach, though mammoth in scale, will try to
walk a middle ground betwen doomsayers who preidct social collapse and naysayers who predict a colossal yawn on January 1,
2000.
“ ‘It’s a wonderful opportunityh for us to prepare citizens for
any kind of natural disaster,’ said Katz, who rallied citizens to
action during the 1996 floods.
“The city will approve as much as $150,000 to finance the
outrach campaign, including a full-time public information officer,
a telephone-and-internet referral network, a city Y2K web site, outreach materials and assistance from the Global action Plan for the
Earth, an international environmental organziation that created
the community-organized model.
“With little more than 10 months left until the end of the 1900s,
Portland citizens have been calling City Hall with fears about the
12
How to Prepare for Y2K
local power supply, food and water availability, emergency services
and other basic necessities.
“Many callers worry that ‘significant social breakdown is a distinct possibility,’ accoriding to a draft prepareedness document
that has been circulating among city officials this month. Katz hears
from residents who are unnerved by ‘rumors, misinformation and
speculation.’
“ ‘They’re very surprised about how many of their friends ar
thinking in survivalist mode,’ she said.
“The source of fear is the Year 2000 computer problem. Computers that use two-digit dates, such as 99, may malfunction when
the year rolls over to 00. They may read the new year as 1900
rather than 2000, resulting in consequences that Y2K pundits argue coudl range from misdated reports to compleet shutdowns of
systgems that control modern civilizations’ vital functions.
“The predominant view of city officials is that the risk of longlasting, widespread Y2K-related failures is small, but tht the dangers of bad preparation could be big.
“If everyione hoards cash and gasoline, for example, the risk fo
indjury from burglary or fire is ‘probably significantly greater’ than
breakdowns fo bank ATMs or electrical failures, acording to the
draft preparedness document.
“City officials sought out Global Action Plan after found David
Gershon recently unveiled his community-organizing model in testimony before a congressional Y2K committee. Glboal Action, based
in Woodstock, NY, has been under city contract in Portland for the
past three years to develop ‘Eco Teams,’ small groups of households that work together to pool resources and reduce waste.
“The Y2K model calls for expansion of the Eco Team concept
into groups of roghly 150 households, or about 10 city blocks,
each coordinated by a volunteer block leader. The approach can
also be adapted for individuals or for groups other than neighbors. Each group will recieve a workbook and literature explaining the Year 2000 computer problem, potential consequences and
appropriate ways to prepare for contingencies. Because nobody
knows how long any Y2K-related disruptions may last, residents
will be coached on how to prepare for failures of basic services
that last for 72 hours, two weeks and two months.
“ “What we have in Portland is a city that is taking their charge
seriously for taking care of their citizens,’ said Gershon. Portland
13
is setting a national precident for how cities can prepare themselves.’
“Other large U.S. municipalities lauded widely for their Y2K
preparatoins include San Diego; Montgomery County, MD; and
Boulder County, Colo.
“The city’s preparedness strategy would tackle the problem
formtwo key directions:
“First, the city wants to become a one-stopsource of infmration
on every phase of Y2K issue that could have a major impact on
residents. That would include not only the status of teh city’s own
$3 million Y2K rfepair effort, but also the status of other local
services, such as utilities, public safety, health care and transportation.
“Second, the city wants to create a network of knowledgeable
citizens who will lead others in preparing their own households
and neighborhoods for potential disruptions in goods and services.
“To organize nearly half a million residents, the city would enlist the aid of existing organizations, from the citys 93 neighborhood associations to Boy Scout troops to schools, churches and
soc9ial clubs. Oversight of the proces woudl fall tothe city’s Office
of Neighborhood involvement, which already oversees the
neightborhood associations and community programs ranging
from crime prevention to refugees to neighborhood mediation.
“ ‘My focus is on what’s good, solid community preparedness,’
said Celia Heron, interim director of the Office of Neighborhood
Involvement. ‘The solution to the Y2K problem and many others
is neightborhood involvement.’ ”—Portland (Oregon) Oregonian,
February 19, 1999.
14
How to Prepare for Y2K
— PART 1 —
Preparing for
Y2K
and similar emergencies
BASIC PREPARATION
Two of the most valuable preparations you can make for the
coming crisis are these:
1 - Surrender your life to God, and let Him guide your life. By
faith in Christ, as your personal Saviour and through His enabling
grace, obey the Ten Commandments and the words of Scripture.
Trust Him to care for you and cooperate with Him. Do your part
to prepare for what is inevitably coming.
2 - Live in the country. This is a great solver of life’s problems.
Many of the situations discussed in this book will be minimized if
you live in a rural area, have a well and a garden plot, and some
trees. Such a setting will also provide you with room around your
home for emergency activity and storage.
—Get out of the cities! They will become very dangerous places
in which to live, when the crisis breaks. Get a little plot of land in
the country, sink a well, clear space for a garden, have trees around
you for firewood. Country living is the best kind of living. Breathe
fresh air for a change.
Food, water, heating fuel, electricity, and computers will be the
Achilles’ heel of most Americans in the coming Y2K crisis
The government may enact anti-hoarding laws within the next
6-12 months. So it is good to start preparing right now. Those
storing up needed supplies may be blamed as “hoarders” and the
cause of the panic and crisis.
15
You should provide basic supplies to last you for at least 6
weeks. Some people plan to stock up for 3 to 6 months. Some are
preparing for a crisis which may last for a year or two.
There are several basics you should stock in your home: water, food, clothing, bedding, first aid supplies, tools, emergency
supplies, and special items. You should also have a reliable nonelectric heat source and, of course, shelter.
Even more basic: Write down everything—in any possible way—
that you use in a day. Note other items which you use, but not
every day. Then stockpile those items, so you can weather storms
ahead.
WATER
Without water, you will be dead in 5 days. So it is a good place
to begin our Y2K preparation list.
If you live in a city or town, you have a real problem. If you live
on even a little acreage in the country, where you can sink a well,
you can have water!
Get out of the cities—before it is too late and you cannot get
out! Government controls could restrict travel from place to place.
Beware, trouble is ahead. Y2K or no Y2K, big trouble is coming to
the cities.
Where will you get your water when your local electrical power
station stops providing it, and your local water utility ceases operations or no longer can treat the water?
You need water to drink, bathe, wash dishes and clothes, and
operate the toilet. If you live in the country, you do not need to rely
on an inside toilet. Then you only need water for drinking, washing, and bathing.
If you live in the country, you want to make sure you have a
well, a stream, or a spring where you can get your water.
If you live in a city or town, you will need to haul in bottled
water and store up a lot of it. But, even if you have a well, it would
be good to have some extra water stored up.
A normally active person needs to drink at least two quarts of
water each day. Hot environments and intense physical activity can
double that amount. Children, nursing mothers, and ill people
will need more.
Store 1 gallon of water per person per day (2 quarts for drink-
Water
16
How to Prepare for Y2K
ing, 2 quarts for food preparation and sanitation). Keep at least a
three-day supply of water in your home. Better yet, have more
than that stockpiled.
Store water in thoroughly washed plastic, gass, fiberglass, or
enamel-lined metal containers. Never use a container that has held
toxic substnces becaues residue can be retained in the surface
pores of the container. If you are not sure if a container is clean
enough, only use the water in it for sanitation purposes, such as
flushing the toilet.
Gradually stock up on water. Fill a number of gallon jugs. Purchase plastic 5-gallon buckets, clean them thoroughly (!), and then
gradually fill a number of them with clean water. Because they are
flat on top and bottom, they stack well. Fill them and stack them
along a wall.
You may have a distiller, and can bottle water made in it. Another option is to gradually buy filtered or ozonated water (purchase extra bottles every week for months).
I always keep several 5-gallon buckets full of well water on
hand. Where we live, storms knock out the electricity every so often. But the crisis ahead will require more than a few buckets.
Avoid using containers that will decompose or break. Do not
store plastic bottles where the sun lights on them, lest the UV rays
destroy them.
One expert suggests taking a waterbed and filling it with water.
But you would need to add purification tablets, if you were going
to later drink from it. A waterbed will hold approximately 175
gallons of water.
A relatively 15-foot plastic swimming pool will hold over 5,000
gallons of water. But, because of the various chemicals used to
purify them, it is best to use the water only for washing and sanitary purposes.
You can purchase used 55-gallon metal drums (about $10 each),
but beware of what was originally stored in them. Check with growers; you might be able to purchase drums which formerly held
apple juice ($60 a drum). Legally, they are only supposed to be
used once, so are available for you to purchase afterward. Many
parts of the country grow apples. You can also buy new water tanks.
Place a washed-out drum at each corner of your house, and let
the water from the gutters pour down into them. This water will
prove a great help in middle of a dry summer when water is scarce.
17
Those 55-gallon drums are difficult to move, and difficult to
get the water out of—unless you have a pumping device or some
kind of spigot on the side. For household use, you would do well
to gather lots of 5-gallon jugs. Military are the best, but Wal-Mart
and other stores carry commercial containers for campers. These
5-gallon jugs are ideal for hauling water, but 1-gallon jugs are also
very useful.
Consider 55-gallon plastic drums made specifically for water
storage. Another more permanent solution is an underground,
fiberglass storage tank. They can hold thousands of gallons of
water but are relatatively expensive compared to the other solutions mentioned above. A 6 x 16-foot tank will hold 3,000 gallons.
Know where you can go to get more water, in an emergency.
If you have a well, purchase a well bucket, rope, and a pulley.
Then you can manually haul water out of your well when there is
no electricity. (A well bucket is a bucket narrow enough to fit down
a drilled, lined well hole.)
An alternate method is to purchase a hand pump. However,
many find the bucket works more efficiently. Hand and solar
pumps are also available. You should have a hand pump or a
solar pump on hand as a backup—just in case.
There are special catalogs where you can purchase special items
like well hand-pumps, well buckets, and solar well-pumps. We
will list some later. For example, on p. 112 of the latest Lehman’s
Non-electric Catalog, solar well-pump kits are listed (330-8575757). Another source for solar pumps is Golden Genesis Company, Scottsdale, Arizona (602-948-8003).
Another alternative is to rig up gutters and downspouts, to
drain water from your roof into barrels or a cistern. If you filter
the roof-water runoff through an old nylon stocking, cheese cloth,
or other thin cloth, this water can be boiled and used. (However,
nearly 40 years ago, I found that roof water generally contains asphalt or aluminum, depending on whether it comes from a house
roof or the top of a mobile home.) Be careful what kind of water
you drink! One source says that painting your roof with white
Cool Seal will reduce the asphalt in the water runoff from the roof.
Because it may contain asphalt, it is best to only use roof
water for washing, bathing, flushing, and watering your garden.
Then there is water purification. This can be a key to long-
Food
18
How to Prepare for Y2K
term survival, if you are not sure of the water in the creek or well.
If you have water purification equipment, a wider range of water
sources are available to you. Water filters today can literally purify
swamp and sewer water, and should be obtained now while they
are still available. Katadyn, Pur, and Sweetwater are a few of the
best brand names. Purchase a portable filter unit for each member of your family, and get one or two counter-top drip models if
possible.
If you store water, an excellent way to preserve and keep it
potable [which means drinkable] is to add one tablespoon of 3%
hydrogen peroxide per gallon, keep it tightly closed and in a cool
place, and it will store indefinitely.
If you live in an area where it is difficult to store water, or you
do not have a well, consider purchasing a large water tank you can
place on a trailer or in the bed of a truck.
Military water buffalotrailers are a good solution for those who
can afford them. Each one holds at least 400 gallons and some are
insulated. You can use it to haul water from a water source to your
home. But you must be able to pump and (if necessary, purify)
water without electricity.
If you live in a city, the need to flush toilets can be a problem,
and you will need water for this purpose also. Without electricity,
your municipal sewage system will probably shut down. Portable
toilets with chemicals to neutralize waste are available. Do not ignore basic sanitation. Cholera is not something to be desired.
Here is more detailed information on purifying water:
Untreated water could be unsafe because of disease carrying
microbes or because of chemical contaminants such as heavy metals, salts, or pesticides. Contaminated water may be present, even
though the water smells okay. It might contain microoganisms that
cause diseases such as dysentery, typhoid, and hepatitis. You
should purify all water of uncertain purity before using it for drinking, food preparation, or personal hygiene.
There are four ways to purify water:
1 - Boiling: Bring water to a rolling boil for 3-5 minutes, keeping in mind that some will evaporate. Let it cool before drinking.
Boiled water will taste better if you pour it back and forth between
two clean containers to restore the oxygen content. This technique
will also improve the taste of stored water. Boiling will kill mi-
19
crobes, but will not remove chemical contaminants.
2. Disinfection: Liquid bleach (Chlorox, Purex, etc.) can be used
to kill microorganisms in the water. But do not used bleach which
are color-safe, scented, or have added cleaners. Add 16 drops of
bleach per gallon of water, stir, and let it stand for 30 minutes. If
the water does not have a slight odor of bleach, add another 16
drops and let it stand another 15 minutes.
3. Filtration: This removes microbes, but not chemicals. There
are two kinds:
The inexpensive kinds use paper or charcoal to do the filtering, but they need to be replaced frequently (Pur Explorer and
First Need are two such brand names).
The expensive kinds are ceramic filters. They cost nearly $200,
but can treat as much as 15,000 gallons of water before needing
replacement. Both the UN and Red Cross use the Swiss Katadyn
brand. It can uses a 50-psi hand pump to treat up to 1.2 quarts
per minute. It is said to be able to purify very dirty water.
4. Distillation: Water is boiled and the vapor is condensed and
collected. This is the only method which will remove both microbes
and chemicals. Tie a cup right-side-up to the central -top handle
of a lid. Then put the lid upside down over a pot of water and let it
boil. Water will flow down the lid into the cup, producing distilled
water.
Solar still uses the heat of the sun to produce distilled water.
Very little water is produced each hour, but no fuel is required.
FOOD
In the United States, at any given time there is a three-day
supply of food on hand. The lettuce you buy was picked four days
ago. When a disaster, such as a hurricane, occurs, there is a rush
on grocery stores and the food is gone within three hours.
Increase your food supply to a minimum of 6 weeks, especially
canned goods. (Some Y2K-knowledgeable experts warn that you
should have as much as a two-years’ supply for each family member.) Make sure you have a manual can opener. Especially select
foods which no require no refrigeration, preparation, or cooking,
and take little or no water to prepare. Such foods would include:
Ready-to-eat canned fruits and vegetables.
Canned juices and soup.
Staples: sugar, salt.
Food
20
How to Prepare for Y2K
High-energy foods: peanut butter, granola bars, trail mix,
honey, molasses.
Vitamin supplements.
Foods for infants, elderly persons, or persons on special
diets.
Possibly dried fruit, if you can afford it. (Freeze-dried foods
are excellent, but very expensive.)
Some recommend that you plan not to heat food and if so,
include a few cans of Sterno.
However, if you are properly prepared, you will have a wood
stove and can cook on top of that. More on heating and cooking
below.
Food is cheap today. It may not be later. The problem is not the
supply of grain in the field. It is the delivery system. First, as we
near the end of 1999, there will be an increasing run on rice, beans,
etc. This could cause shortages. Second, computers control the
shipping of food and other commodities throughout the nation.
When the computers go down, the food supply could be cut off for
an undisclosed period of time.
It is estimated that one adult needs 1,000 pounds of food per
year. The diet should consist of about 50% grains, beans, and rice.
Vegetables should be another 50%. In addition, you will need a
little vegetable oil, salt, etc.
Bulk foods to stock up on would include corn, rice, wheat,
pinto and navy beans, oats, salt, and honey in bulk. If you have
wheat, soybeans, and corn,—you have a perfect protein!
Go to a cheap food outlet (such as Sam’s Club or Costco) and
buy such staples: beans, rice, and corn. Or purchase your wheat
and soybeans at a local co-op. (But if you get anything at a co-op,
make sure it is not treated seed! Insecticides might have been
added.)
Wheat in the field is only $2.50 a bushel (60 lbs.), or 4 cents a
pound. At that rate, it would only cost $1.50 to fill one of your
buckets with good wheat! Wheat at the co-op costs more, but still
far less than the flour at the grocery store. When you go to the coop, make sure you get triple-cleaned wheat. Lacking the bits of
sand, it is less likely to wear out your high-speed grinder as quickly.
If you do not know where to start, here is a basic suggestion:
Estimate how much wheat, corn, and beans you would use in a
week, if you did not have any other source of carbohydrates and
21
proteins. Then go out and purchase a year’s supply of whole wheat,
corn, and beans. If you buy 50 lb. sacks, this will only cost a couple
hundred dollars or so. Be sure and specify that you want foodgrade product; otherwise you could get seed wheat, etc., which
has a poisonous coating to repel insects.
Purchase garbage cans (tinned steel or plastic) with tight-fitting lids. Store your dry staples in them.
Also useful are 5-gallon buckets, especially those with screwon lids. M&M Industries makes a good one. A case of 6 (with lids),
shipped, is about $40, depending on address mailed to (316 Corporate Place, Chattanooga, TN 37419 / 800-331-5305). An excellent source for 5-gallon buckets (but without the screw-on lids),
are the fast-food restaurants. Buy their empty buckets for 50 cents
or $1 each; take them home and wash them out well. These can be
used for food or water. You can estimate that about 35 pounds of
grain or beans will fill each bucket.
Have a manual grain grinder so you can make flour when you
need it from your staples.
Learn to make good bread. Grind your wheat, soybeans, and
corn in your grinder (use a high-speed electric grinder before the
crisis; a hand grinder during it). Mix them together in these proportions: $40% wheat, $40% corn, and 20% soybeans. Add some
yeast, knead it, let it rise, then bake. You will have all the major
amino acids in that bread. (However, you will have to learn to like
the taste; it is a little different.)
Over a period of time, you will be stocking up on the various
foodstuffs. But then, during storage, insects will want to claim
their share.
As soon as you get your latest order of dry staples (wheat,
beans, corn, etc.), put it in your freezer for 3 days. This will help
kill a majority of the bugs that were included in the shipment. But
that will not eliminate them all.
Next, the experts advise that you mix a cupful of diatomaceous
earth (DE) into each bucketful of wheat. This primarily consists of
calcium. Yet it is a special kind, which big bugs and post-larval
bugs choke on. DE is said to be harmless to people, if the silica
content is 1% or less. It kills bugs by dehydrating them. DE costs
about 90 cents to a dollar per pound, plus shipping. Your co-op
may sell it. (Nitron Industries is an organic gardening company,
Heating Fuel
22
How to Prepare for Y2K
which sells DE for about $24 for 20 lbs. P.O. Box 1447, Fayetteville,
AR 72702 / 501-587-1777.)
Unfortunately, not only the bugs but the very air is hazardous
to your stored foods. As you may know, it is the air in the jar (the
oxygen and humidity in that air) which, along with warmth, works
to destroy the food value of the contents of each jar. There is now a
gadget which removes the air from the jar so you can seal it! Normally, one has to boil the jar and contents in order to create a
“vacuum pack.” But foods you do not want to boil can be sealed
with a Pump-n-Seal.
Pump-n-Seal is used to seal both jars and good-quality zipper
locking plastic freezer bags. Recommended jarred foods include
soups, salads, berries, beans, cooking oils, chips, nuts, etc. It can
be used on nut mixes, cooking oils, and other oil foods. It helps
prevent freezer burn and preserve freshness in frozen foods. Of
course, it would also be excellent, not only for food, but for storing
garden seeds in jars.
Pump-n-Seal, Pioneering Concepts, Inc., P.O. Box 2346,
Naperville, IL 60567 (630-553-2340; fax 630-553-2380)
For long shelf-life food reserves, call Intenrational Collectors
Associates (800-525-9556).
Get to know farmers who will sell or barter their produce to
you. More on bartering later in this book.
FOOD FROM THE GARDEN
If you do not know much about gardening, begin practicing!
Plant a garden this summer! Do not wait for a crisis to begin learning how to raise your own food. Buy non-hybrid garden seed, and
plant some this summer. Learn how to save some of the seed for
the next year.
This fall, stock up on non-hybrid seed for next year. Non-hybrid (reproducible seeds) are available from Pinetree Garden Seeds,
Box 300, New Gloucester, ME 04260; also from R.H. Schumway,
Box 1, Graniteville, SC 29829.
After the growing season, buy small packets of garden seeds
(then available at lowest cost) and store them for barter or future
gardens.
Keep your food storage program very private, known only to
your immediate family or closest friends. You can and should share
23
with whom you like, but not because hungry, unprepared neighbors or marauders forcibly beat your door down and seize your
reserves.
You can always grow a variety of foodstuffs in the summer
months, but you also need food for winter.
Hubbard squash (a winter squash) and kale are two of the
best. Grow the squash this summer and harvest it this fall. Spread
it out on newspapers in a cool, dry place—and it will last through
the winter and provide you with excellent starchy food. Hubbard
is one of the best-keeping of the winter squashes. (If you did not
know it, pumpkins very quickly spoil.)
Then there is kale. Collards do better in the heat of the summer, and for use in the summer and early fall. But, in many parts
of the nation, kale can overwinter in the ground! Order a sizeable
amount of kale and plant it in late summer (where I live, in eastern
Tennessee, August 1-15 is the date to plant it.) It will provide fresh
cooking greens throughout the winter and early spring! All through
the winter you can go out and harvest some leaves. It will not grow
during the winter, but it will not die—unless a severe freeze occurs.
You will want to have seed on hand for the summer after the
turn of the century. Asgrow (Kalamazoo, Michigan) is a large company which sells vacuum-packed cans of seeds. Buy a few cans
and you will have lots of seeds for summer and fall planting in the
year 2000. But remember: as soon as you open the can, outside
moisture will began degrading the quality of the seed.
If you only have a lawn around your home, tear up part of it—
and plant a summer and fall garden. But be sure and check the
pH. Do a soil test and find out if you need to add some lime to
sweeten the soil. Most vegetables like a soil which is generally more
alkaline than most in the eastern states. (Out west, the soil is less
acid.)
If you do not have a soil test kit, you can collect a few samples
from various areas of your proposed garden plot—and mail it to
your state agriculture station, or to a state college. For $10 or so,
they will test the soil for you and send you a report in a few weeks.
Phone your local ag agent and he will explain what to do. You will
find him listed in your phone book under “(County name) Extension Service.”
If you have access to rotted manure, put some on your garden
to Prepare for Y2K
Alternate ElectricityHow
Sources
24
plot to help build it up. But you must begin preparing your garden
now; do not wait until later. If you can only haul in fresh manure,
get it this spring and let it set for six months. If you know how to
compost, all the better. Crops grow far better in soil which has
been properly fertilized. But do not use chemical fertilizers! They
only injure your soil and kill the earthworms and microzyma.
If you garden, you will need canning jars and related supplies;
and a hand grinder for corn, wheat, and other grains. That was
discussed in the preceding section on food.
HEATING FUEL
One or more heat sources are also needed, not only to warm
you and cook your food, but also to keep the pipes from freezing.
You must have an alternative to electricity! Purchase a nonelectric heating source. The simplest is a stand-alone, non-vented
propane heater.
If you are relying on propane, make sure your tank is full.
Consider having a second tank installed for awhile.
If you have a source of firewood, install a woodstove! A good
wood stove can heat 2,000 sq. ft. of living space. There are places
out west where firewood is difficult to find, but there is usually
plenty of it in the eastern states.
Be sure and use insulated pipe, where it runs through the
wall. Make sure the chimney has a liner in it. Woodstoves can
cause chimney fires, so you must take special precautions with
them, which would not be necessary with propane. Wood heat can
produce a lot of rather sudden heat in the chimney. In addition,
wood smoke tends to build up a creosote which occasionally can
start a chimney fire.
What kind of woodstove should you get? The better-made (and
more expensive) are lined with firebrick, or something similar, and
will last a long time. They are tighter, and will hold wood heat
through the night. In this way, if you select a large log in the evening,
and bank down the stove, you will not have to wake up to an
alarm clock in the middle of the night to refill the stove! Make sure
the stove top is flat, so you can cook on it. The stove should be
large enough to heat your home.
If you cannot afford such an expensive stove, you can buy a
cheap, thin-wall model at the hardware store. Although it will not
25
last for many years, it will get you through Y2K. Such a stove generally will have to be refilled halfway through the night (unless you
want to let it go out and then start a fire in a cold house the next
morning.)
Used, goodstoves are most often available in the spring. That
is the best time to buy a good one at a lower price.
If the wood stove does not have an integral blower fan—to push
out the hot air,—place a fan behind or above the stove. This applies to any other kind of house-heating source. (Of course, when
there is no electricity, you will not be able to use that fan.) It is
possible to purchase stove fans which run from the heat and move
the heated air.
If you have always wished to have a fireplace, you might want
to build it this year and stock plenty of wood for it by winter time.
(However, woodstoves provide far more heat than fireplaces.) If
you have a fireplace, you can increase the heating efficiency with an
insert. You can go from 15% to 80-90% efficiency by purchasing
and installing one.
If you live in the city, the experts recommend that you keep the
firewood in your garage, out of sight. Otherwise it might be stolen
at night. (That is what happened in Watertown, NY, earlier this
year, during a three-week power blackout during an icestorm.) If
you live in the country, you will need a shed or tarp to keep the
wood dry.
Stoves, firewood, and a number of other things mentioned in
this book, should be purchased before October 1999. Do not forget to purchase and store 1 or 2 complete sets of interior chimney
pipe (elbows, joints, etc.)
Purchase 1 or 2 good wood-splitting mauls, axes, hatchets,
and some extra handles.
You might want to get a crosscut saw and Swede saw. A
chainsaw (and supplies: oil, gas, tools, spare chains, and sharpener) is a must if you are going to cut your own wood.
Cast-iron cooking utensils are great for a woodstove.
Those who live in apartments can get a small camper’s cooking stove, or a small wood or propane stove. However, campingtype stoves and heaters should only be used ot of doors in a wellventilated area. If you do purchase an alternative heating device,
make sure it is approved for use indoors and is listed with the
to Prepare for Y2K
Alternate ElectricityHow
Sources
26
Underwriters Laboratories (UL). It is best not to heat the house
with the oven or top burners of a propane cookstove. This is because of the fumes emitted. (However, in an emergency, use them
anyway.)
There are numerous camping cookstoves available. Be sure to
have extra fuel and matches for the stove, and only use it outdoors. A dozen or two large cans of sterno for cooking could be
useful.
In case the power fails, plan to use alternative cooking devices
in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions. Do not use open
flames or charcoal grills indoors.
You will need a reliable non-electric way to heat your home and
cook your food. Propane is very handy. (LP [liquid propane] gas is
another name for propane.) You cannot store electricity, but you
can store propane. The author is installing a second 500-gallon
propane tank in his yard. He will make sure that both of them are
filled by mid-December 1999. A friend at the propane company
quietly told him to make sure it was installed not later than summer 1999—to avoid the rush.
For those who are interested, solar heat is available—if you live
in an area which has lots of cloudless days. One source of solar
equipment is Kent Morgan, 8534 E. 37th Place, Suite 200, Indianapolis, IN 46226 (317-465-8496). More on solar energy in the
next section.
ALTERNATE ELECTRICITY SOURCES
If you live in an area where you can legally and functionally
have one, a generator can be very useful. (Another reason why you
want to live in the country; they are not appreciated in urban areas
because they are noisy). Frankly, none of us appreciate their noise;
yet, in an emergency, they will be very much appreciated.
Generators designed for camping or recreational vehicle usage
(1,000 - 5,000 watts) have insufficient capacity to handle the load
requirements of even a small home. Only a few pieces of equipment can be operated at a time.
An adequately sized, high-quality generator (16,000 - 20,000
watts), on the other hand, will be quite expensive to purchase
($6,000-$8,000), and will require large amonts of fuel whenever it
is running.
27
(One expert recommends that, if you wish to use a backup
generator for an extended period, you need to install a group of
deep-cycle marine or industrial batteries, an electronic controller,
and a converter which converts direct current (DC) to alternating
current (AC). If you choose this system, you will need to get an
expert to design and install it for you.)
If you plan to use a portable generator, connect what you want
to power directly to the generator. do not connect the generator to
your home’s electrical system. Reason: If the power company suddenly turned the electricity on, it could burn up your generator!
A couple weeks ago, we had a direct line to a generator wired
into our office. Another was installed in the print shop. When the
crisis comes, we turn the generators on. When not in use, the
generators are on wheels and are stored in a sheltered place, such
as a garage.
Select those appliances you wish to be on a special wiring circuit to the generator. Ideally, this would include the following:
Washing machine.
Dryer (or omit).
Freezer.
Refrigerator.
Certain kitchen outlets for table-top appliances (blenders,
etc.).
Certain lights, preferably those in the kitchen.
Keep in mind the following principle:
Electric heating devices (dryers, water heaters, cook stoves,
heaters) use a lot of power! Larger motors do also. Motors require
extra power when they first start. Therefore, do not operate electric heating devices from your generator. Only operate one or two
larger appliances at a time.
Depending on the size of your generator, you might (might not)
be able to operate the freezer, refrigerator, radio (for the latest news),
and kitchen lights at the same time. But do not start the motor
items (freezer and refrigerator) at the same time! Pull the plug on
one before starting the generator.
You may wish to purchase a 5,000 watt model. However, some
folk have been successful buying two 1,200 watt models. They can
be used in different places.
But even the 5,000 watt generators will only operate a few things
Alternate Lighting How to Prepare for Y2K
28
at a time. Check it out in advance and find what you can do. Have
the special wiring circuit installed and tested before the crisis comes.
Know ahead of time what you can, and cannot do with your generator. Then operate the generator several hours each day. During
that time, the food is being chilled again and you are rushing around
the kitchen while listening to the news, to find out what the government and the cities are doing.
At the end of this book is a voltage reference guide—so you
can know in advance what a generator can handle. In this way,
you will be able to make a wiser choice when selecting the size of
generator to purchase!
If you have a generator which can operate several hours each
day to keep your home freezer cold, this will greatly help. However,
you can never know what may happen. It is terrible to lose a freezer
full of food! If in doubt as to what is ahead, eat all the food in your
freezer by the end of the year. (The only way you can know you can
make it is to install a generator, and test it on your refrigerator
and freezer a few hours a day, for several days, and see if it can
handle the load and keep the food cold as it should be.)
Keep the generator in a well-ventilated area (because it has gasoline in it), either outside or in a garage, keeping a door ajar. Do not
put a generator in your basement or anywhere inside your home.
Plan ahead: Arrange to operate the generator so that it is not
so loud when running. To lessen the noise, either have some insulation board partially around it, or place it in a hole in the ground,
ensuring that surface water will not flow into it.
If possible, the generator should have a multi-fuel capacity (able
to operate on either propane or diesel). Buy one between 8 Kwh to
12 Kwh, if possible.
Generators can use gasoline, diesel fuel, natural gas, or propane. Either of the last two options is recommended for safety
and greater ease of fuel storage.
Honda generators are the best gasoline generators on the market. They run longer on a gallon of gasoline , are quieter, and easier
to start than the cheap models with a Briggs and Straton engine.
Honda engines are also easier to work on.
Then there is the matter of fuel tanks. Check with a local agriculture supply house or with local farmers and ranchers. They
may have used tanks no longer in use which they will be glad to
dispose of at low cost, if you will haul it off.
29
Diesel fuel is more stable than gasoline, stores better and longer,
and is less explosive. Be sure you place any fuel storage tanks in a
safe area, away from your home and any machinery that may spark
or ignite the fuel. Gasoline or diesel tanks (300 or 500 gallon size),
the kind you see standing on stands in farmers’ and ranchers’
yards in the country, can be bought from agriculture supply houses
in small towns and refilled monthly.
Regarding fuel in tanks, keep in mind that there may be disruptions in delivery and the possibility of rationing, should shortages develop.
If you are going to store gasoline over 4 months, treat it all with
Sta-bil. Sta-bil is a compound which keeps the gas in stabilized
form for months.
If you put Sta-bil in the gas tank of the generator and run it for
a few minutes, you can shut it off and not worry about the gas that
is in the carburetor gumming up and make future starting difficult. The gas can remain in your machine for a whole year and still
crank up easily.
Solar grids can also be used to produce electricity. Solar cooking and solar lanterns are available. Kits are available.
A solar energy system, though initially more expensive, is ultimately simpler, safer, easier to maintain and requires no fuel (except sunlight). If you are considering this, consult an expert on
whether you should use either a generator/battery/converter system or a solar system.
Wind generators can also be used as an alternate electrical energy source. But you need to live in the midwest or on a
mountaintop, where there is a lot of wind.
For more information on energy back-up systems, send $10 to
Year 2000 Survival Newsletter, P.O. Box 84910, Phoenix, AZ 85071
(800-528-0559). for the special issue on back-up energy systems.
An emergency generator, or power source of some kind, is important. Keep in mind that, without electricity, you cannot pump
water out of a 300-foot well (although you can get it out with a well
bucket).
Consider converting all or part of your appliances (dryers, water
heater, cookstove, freezer, and/or refrigerator) to either propane or
natural gas. Buy or lease the largest gas tank and keep it topped
off monthly.
How to Prepare for Y2K
Clothing / Household
30
Before concluding this section, before you spend money on
solar power or wind generator systems, know that it will work
where you live!
Solar power is great in states such as New Mexico and Arizona. But it is far less efficient in the eastern part of the country,
especially east of a north-south line running through Chicago. Too
cloudy.
Wind generators are outstanding if you live in very windy areas, but less so elsewhere. From Texas north to the Dakotas is
windy country. Mountain ridges where the wind can blow in from
the west or north are good. The first ridge next to the Pacific Ocean
and the tops of mountains are also good. It has been said that if
most of North Dakota were covered with wind generators, there
would still be room for the same number of cattle—yet a sizeable
portion of America could be electrified from it.
ALTERNATE LIGHTING
Buy several dozen candles, and at least a dozen boxes of strikeanywhere matches. Butane lighters are also good.
Purchase some kerosene lamps and several gallons of kerosene. If you suspect the crisis may last for some time, you may
want 5-10 gallons. Also get spare wicks.
Aladdin lamps are best, but cost up to $65 and require special Aladdin oil. Like Coleman lamps, they require special fuel and
provide a white light. Such lamps burn cleaner and, in the evening,
are much brighter to read by.
Kerosene lamps can be purchased at Wal-Mart or at surplus
stores, generally for under $25 each.
Purchase several flashlights, a dozen or more rechargeable batteries, and a 12-volt battery charger. Or, if you will have no alternate electrical energy source to recharge batteries, purchase a quantity of alkaline batteries (they store better and outlast regular batteries). Do not forget replacement flashlight bulbs.
CLOTHING AND BEDDING
Basically, you should have extra blankets, coats, hats, and gloves
to keep warm. Buy warm winter clothing, long underwear, etc.,
and lots of it. You want enough to last several years. When you can
dress warm, you are better prepared for whatever may happen.
You need durable work clothing, shoes, and boots. A lot of our
31
clothing is imported from China, and the shipping industry is not
Y2K-compliant.
Warm shirts
Durable pants or dresses
Sturdy shoes or work boots
Rain gear
Blankets or sleeping bags
Pull-down thick caps, or wool hats
Leather work gloves
Thermal underwear
Protective clothing (coveralls, overalls, etc.)
Sunglasses
Ladies should make sure they own some comfortable, durable
walking shoes.
Bedding is also important:
You should have several warm, wool army blankets for each
member of the family, and a dozen more for other friends or relatives who may arrive. Warm sleeping bags, which can withstand
temperatures down to zero, are very useful.
Make sure you have several hot water bottles, to help keep you
warm in bed. You cannot be sure how the heating situation may
turn out.
PREPARING THE HOUSE
In addition to other points mentioned in this book, here are a
few more:
Y2K will begin in the dead of winter. Prepare your house for
the coming crisis. Install storm windows to help hold the heat in.
Or purchase a roll of clear, plastic sheeting. Have it ready and, if
you need to next winter, tack it up over leaky windows to keep the
cold out.
Locate those passageway areas where you should drive nails,
and put up blankets to help keep the heat in certain quarters.
Figure out which rooms you can close off and not heat.
If you have a fireplace, place a plyboard over it to close it off.
(Otherwise air from the living room will keep going up the fireplace
chimney.) Install a good woodstove.
HOUSEHOLD ITEMS
How
to Prepare
for Y2K
Household / Medical
/ First
Aid
32
List the items you regularly use in your home over a week’s
time. These are the things you need to have extra on hand!
Liquid soap
Detergent
Toilet paper
Matches and disposable butane lighters
A little thought will suggest many other household items you
will need.
Sam’s Club has a 50-page catalog of all its standard products.
Ask the manager for a copy. From it, make a list of what you need!
If you are able to do so, you can place an order and then borrow a
pickup and get it.
Here are some sample prices at Sam’s:
Laundry detergent: 40-lb. bucket - $10.
Toilet paper: Case (60 rolls, 500 sheets, double-ply) - $25.
Disposable lighters: 50 - $10.
You will need trash bags, paper towels, razors, etc.
Also keep in mind light bulbs, duct tape (several rolls), stamps,
and envelopes.
If soap may become scarce, laundry disks are helpful. They
can do hundreds of loads with little or no soap.
Do not forget canning equipment, jars, etc. Keep this ratio in
mind: For each 100 jars, you need 100 rings and 300 lids.
Purchase a hand-powered mill for grinding flour or meal.
SANITATION
Here is a list of sanitation items you will want to keep on hand:
Toilet paper, towelettes
Soap, liquid detergent
Feminine supplies
Personal hygiene items
Plastic garbage bags, ties
Plastic bucket with lid
Disinfectant
Household chlorine bleach
Baking soda (for odors)
Agricultural lime (for sanitation purposes)
SPECIAL ITEMS
33
There will be family members who have special needs which
should be considered.
For the infant:
Formula
Diapers
Bottles
For adults:
Heart and blood pressure mdication
Insulin
Prescription drugs
Denture needs
Contact lenses and supplies
Extra eye glasses
Books
A sewing kit with polyester thread
MEDICAL SUPPLIES
Do you need a regular supply of medical products? If so, store
them up gradually ahead of time, so you will have a 3-4 months’
supply at the turn of the century. This would include both prescription and non-prescription medications which you regularly
use.
Begin purchasing any special medications in 90-day quantities
and renew your prescriptions early.
FIRST AID KIT
Assemble a first-aid kit for your home and one for each car.
The experts advise that you include all of the following:
Sterile adhesive bandages in assorted sizes
2-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6)
4- to 9-inch sterile gauze pads (4-6)
Hypoallergenic adhesive tape
Triangular bandages (3)
2-inch sterile roller bandages (3 rolls)
3-inch sterile roller bandages (3 rolls)
Scissors
Tweezers
Needle
Moistened towelettes
Antiseptic
How to Prepare
Communications / Electronic
/ Toolsfor Y2K
34
Thermometer
Tongue blades (2)
Tube of petroleium jelly or other lubricant
Assorted sizes of safety pins
Cleansing agent/soap
Latex gloves (2 pair)
Sunscreen
Activated charcoal
Herbal remedies (preferably in tincture form which retain their
potency the longest) should also be included in your medical chest.
Have extra cayenne pepper powder on hand. It can be used to stop
bleeeding, arrest a heart attack, and do many other things. Slippery elm powder is excellent for the stomach, dysentery, and as a
food supplement. Also keep white willow bark, genger, Barley
Green, rice bran, and Hawthorne berry syrup on hand. Store up
extra vitamins.
Echinacea, astragalus, Dr. Christopher’s Anti-Plague Formula,
and Vitamin C are useful. Taking all four every hour helps neutralize an emerging cold or flu.
There are many herbal supply houses. One source of pure,
high-strength herbs is American Botanical Pharmacy, P.O. Box 3027,
Santa Monica, CA 90408 (310-453-1987).
Essential oils have the longest shelf life of all plants. Their
anti-microbial, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal properties are
very powerful. For a personalized family health kit, call Essential
Oils Healthline (602-430-7700 or, toll free, 877-571-7137).
HOUSEHOLD EQUIPMENT
Buy extra batteries of all sizes for radios, clocks and other
battery operated products. Hand-pumped flashlights do not require batteries and are useful.
For reliable fire starters, obtain a large supply of long-burning
candles, matches, and butane lighters.
Certain household equipment should be checked on, including your smoke alarms. If they are hard-wired into your home’s
electrical system (most newer ones are), check to see if they have
battery backups. Each fall, replace all batteries in smoke alarms
as a general fire safety precaution.
Check on other equipment. Know what will still operate when
the electricity goes off. Keep extra batteries on hand.
35
A wash tub and hand wringer would be handy to have. But if
you have a generator, you can turn it on at certain hours and cool
the refrigerator and freezer while you wash clothes and hear the
latest news on the radio.
It was mentioned earlier that, in view of what is ahead, a gas
(propane or natural gas) washer, dryer, water heater, cookstove,
freezer, and refrigerator are better than the electric-operated kind.
Cast iron cookware that can be used on stoves or open fires
are useful.
ALTERNATIVE COMMUNICATIONS
Purchase a shortwave-world band radio receiver so you can
keep up with what is happening in the world. This is vital in case
of riots in the cities and subsequent government takeover because
of the severity of the crisis. The radio equipment should have an
optional battery pack. Or listen to an electric one at those times
you operate your generator to cool the refrigerator and freezer, etc.
Sony has an excellent shortwave model that can receive worldwide, yet is small enough to fit into the palm of your hand. Grundig
is another good brand.
Some survival experts recommend that you also get small,
hand-held two-way shortwave radios (transceivers) for each member of your family (15 years old and up). Each one will transmit
10-15 miles. However, a general-class amateur license or technician-class amateur liceses is required. An alternate method is small,
hand-held walkie-talkies, which can communicate on citizen band
about half a mile. Transceivers on amateur radio frequencies can
reach out to 10 miles.
A scanner can be used to tell you what is happening locally, but
local the local radio news may substitute. Here are some ham and
radio equipment sources: Ham Radio Outlet (800-854-6046); Amateur Electronic Supply (800-558-0411); Texas Towers (800-2723467); Radio Shack sells transceivers for citizens band. Radios
which operate on solar or hand crank power are also available.
You might want to buy an inexpensive used CB (civilian band)
radio home station and car CB for inexpensive local emergency
communications.
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
Check with manufacturers of any essential computer-controlled
How to Prepare
for Y2K
Transportation / Documents
/ Finances
36
electronic equipment in your home or business, to see if that equipment may be affected. This would include fire and security alarm
systems, programmable thermostats, appliances, consumer electronics, garage -door openers, electronic locks, and any other electronic equipment in which an embedded chip may control its operation.
Sell your old pre-1997 computer and purchase a new one with
new softwear and Windows 98 (It has a bios fix for many PC problems.) You can check your computers with Ymark2000 program.
The following items would be very helpful during emergency
conditions:
Solar battery charger ($15).
Solar powered am/fm/sw radio ($20).
Quartz battery-powered clock ($10).
Battery tester ($5).
PERSONAL COMPUTERS
It is an unfortunate fact that a majority of personal computers
are non-Y2K compliant. As recently as last year, the BIOS (basic
input output/system) in most PCs were still being programmed to
roll over to January 1, 1980! If your system is based on an Intel
Pentium-90 chip, it probably will not function correctly after the
century changes! Because this is a BIOS problem, it matters not
what brand of personal computer you have. It has been estimated
that 75 percent of PCs are non-compliant.
And there are other problems. Current computer hardware
can be at fault:
“Noncompliance in hardware devices and PC BIOSs can cause
equipment to fail or misinterpret 21st century dates as 20th
century ones. Some PC BIOSs will work after January 1, 2000,
but cannot roll over on their own past December 31, 1999. Others require a BIOS fix in order to recognize any dates in the next
century.”—PC Magazine, October 6, 1998.
Or the problem can be in current software:
“Year 2000 compliance in off-the-shelf software, custom applications, and data files is much trickier to pinpoint. Problems
can be as basic as a 2-digit year field mask or as complex as a
lengthy calculation on a date value buried in a code snippet.
Worse, a date problem can arise in a seemingly compliant application due to [a 2-digit] data entry.”—Ibid.
37
PC problems occur in four areas: the two-digit code in commercial PC software, the BIOS chips that control PC hardware
functions, the habit of entering two-digit dates in spreadsheets
and databases (when four-digit entries could be used), and the
embedded code in the hardware and software.
For a quick check on what your computer will do on January
1, 2000, simply change the date on your PC to December 31,
1999, and the time to 11:55 p.m. Ten minutes later, the computer should have a correct date of January 1, 2000, and the
time to 12:05 p.m. If it does, your computer is Y2K compatible.
But that does not mean that all your software is. Test software in
the same manner. Contact companies and obtain certified Y2Kcompatible equipment and software. For legal reasons, they are
not likely to declare it “Y2K-compatible” unless it really is.
If you would like extensive guidance for checking out your
own computer equipment and software, consult the October 6,
1998, issue of PC Magazine. Do not expect a lot of help from
software firms and vendors. They have been told by their lawyers
not to say much. They generally refuse to provide compliance
data or say the software (even though made in 1997) is too old to
fix and therefore not compliant. So, if they say something is
“Y2K-compliant,” it probably is.
Surely, we are nearing the end. Crises seem to be mounting
on all sides. But the faithful will remain in the hollow of God’s
hand.
TOOLS AND SUPPLIES
Some of the following items reflect the fact that you may need
to relocate:
Mess kits—paper cups, plates and plastic utinsils
Emergency preparedness manual
Battery operated radio and extra batteries
Flashlight and extra batteries
Cash or traveler’s checks, change
Non-electric can opener, utility knife
Fire extinguisher (small canister, ABC type)
Tube tent
Pliers
Tape
Compass
to Prepare for Y2K
Other Preparations How
/ Protection
38
Matches in a waterproof container
Aluminum foil
Plastic storage containers
Signal flare
Paper, pencils
Needles, thread
Shut-off wrench, to turn off household gas and water
Whistle
Plastic Sheeting
Map of the area (for locating shelters)
We earlier mentioned the need for a chain saw and supplies,
axes, mauls, hatchets.
Do not forget adequate garden tools.
SURVIVAL KIT
This what the U.S. Armed Forces tells its men to include in
their survival kit:
Lightweight, roll-up raincoat.
A broad-brimmed, lightweight hat (in hot climates).
A knitted cap, to cover head and ears, and extra gloves or
mittens (in cold climates).
A change of underwear and socks.
Roll-up 4-foot seine (poles can be fashioned-form available
sticks or other wood found near a stream). [A seine is a
fishing net, especially a long one that hangs vertically in
the water and is supported by floats on its upper edge
and kept taut by weights on the bottom edge.]
Waterproof, stike-anywhere matches.
Waterproof, batteryless flashlight.
Candle stub (beside light, candle wax is useful for plugging,
patching, and starting fires).
Fire starter.
Toilet paper.
Insect repellent (in plastic squeeze bottle).
Sunscreen lotion or cream.
Sunglasses.
Signal mirror.
Two smoke signals.
Two flares.
Compass.
39
Appropriate topographic maps.
Halazone tablets for purifying water.
Two dozen assorted fishhooks.
50 feet of 50-lb. test monofilament line.
Brass swivels and 25 feet of light wire for rigging snares.
Swiss Army-type pocket knife.
Needle and thread.
25 feet of parachute cord or other heavy-duty nylon line.
Short file or whetstone.
Ax or hatchet.
A strong saw—easily stored, yet sturdy enough to take down
trees many inches in diameter.
Plastic pack of bouillon cubes and chocolate packs to mix
with water.
1 square yard of aluminum foil.
Antiseptic cream.
Small pad and pencil.
TRANSPORTATION
Keep your automobile’s gas tank full in the last weeks before
the turn of the year. As soon as the electricity goes out, it will be
impossible to pump gas at gasoline stations.
Consider contacting a fuel company and having them set a gasoline tank on your property. They will be glad to do this since they
will be selling you the gasoline. But do not wait; get the tank installed early!
Disadvantages of a tank installation are these: (1) You may pay
a little more per gallon for gasoline. (2) The inside of the tank can
gradually acquire water in the bottom of the tank from condensation (yet the outlet is generally a little higher than the tank bottom). In other words, gasoline in one of those home tanks can be
a little dirty. The larger the tank the cleaner it is. (3) You will not
have the brand of gasoline you normally prefer (if you care about
such matters.)
However, in a crisis, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages! That tank, filled, will hold from 50 to 150 gallons, and would
provide you with enough gasoline to run your car for quite some
time. And that could be worth a lot to you!
Acquire alternate transportation in the event that the system
goes down for a long time and fuel becomes scarce or unavailable.
How Line
to Prepare for Y2K
Catalogs / Barter / Time
40
This might include bicycles, mountain bikers, motor scooters, trail
bikes, ATV quadrunners, or motorcycles. Some of these use fuel,
but in smaller amounts.
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
There will be important family documents which you should
keep in a waterproof, portable container. Make sure the following
the following includes addresses and phone numbers.
Will, insurance policies, contracts, deeds, stocks and bonds.
Passports, social security cards, immunization records.
Bank account numbers, credit card account numbers and
companies.
Inventory of valuable household goods, important telephone
numbers, family records (birth, marriage, death certificates).
PERSONAL FINANCES
There is the possibility that you may have difficulty withdrawing money from your bank at certain times in late 1999 and early
2000, not necessarily because the banks have Y2K problems (they
were supposed to be all fixed by April 1999)—but because so many
people will panic and withdraw their savings. Therefore, you may
find it wise to withdraw enough to tide you through the first months
of 2000. Have all your cash in small denominations.
If the banking system shut down for a month, what would
happen to you, to your employer, your employment, your retirement fund, and your pension?
When the banks reopened, would more bank runs shut them
down again?
This is why you would do well to slowly begin removing funds
from the bank. Keep the cash in a safe place. Withdraw money
from your bank in small amounts, well in advance of the end of
1999. In this way, you will avoid long lines at the bank near the
end. You should also be aware that computer-controlled electronic
tansactions involving ATM cards, credit cards, and the like cannot
be processed in certain emergencies.
If you wish to remove very large amounts from your bank account, go to a bank officer and tell him what you are doing. You
can mention that the Federal Reserve understands the problem
and is printing an additional $50 billion to facilitate such demand.
41
Tell him that you understand that you must fill out a form in
order to arrange for such a larg withdrawal. Be very courteous,
but know that it is your money and you have a legal right to withdraw the money. You are breaking no laws by doing so. Smaller
bills will be more useful in a time of crisis. A growing number of
businesses today will not accept $50 and $100 bills. Several hundred dollars in rolled change could also be useful.
If you live in the country, it is rather easy to store money in jars
in the ground outside your home. (Plastic lids cannot be detected
by metal detectors.) If you live in the city, you may wish to purchase a safe. A safe is only safe when it contains certain substances
which will turn to water if a fire occurs. That will limit the amount
of heat buildup possible inside the safe. Then wait a week after the
fire is past, before opening the safe. (Otherwise, the papers will
burst into flame as soon as you open it.)
Tell no one except your spouse or a close family member about
your stored savings.
Frankly, the welfare of the nation is better off if everyone only
withdraws a small amount from the bank. But the amount you
should withdraw will be an individual decision.
In December 1999, pay all 30-day acocunts by the latter part of
the month! Do not wait until January to pay them! If you pay in
cash, get receipts. If you pay by check, you would do well to get
receipts also.
Have paper records of all types of financial data.
Then there is the stock market. Get out of it! Trouble is coming. There are several reasons why we can expect a depression
when the turn of the century comes. Experts advise that you sell
all your bonds (including munis [municipal bonds]), and equity
mutual funds.
Keep in mind that, if the government shuts down the stock
market in a panic, you probably will not get your money back.
This would also be true of every electronic promise to pay, including bank accounts. If it is a digital promise, it is a risky promise.
Here is another suggestion: End your automatic deposit of
paychecks; have them given to you instead. End automatic utility
payments, and instead pay them by check (not cash, so you can
prove your payment). Cash your checks at the grocery store or
bank, and no longer at automatic teller machines. Carry $60 in
to Prepare
for Y2K
Time Line / Voltage How
Reference
Guide
42
rolled quarters and dimes in your car.
PAYING THE IRS
At the present time, all money electronically transferred to the
IRS goes there via a standard 2-digit year field. Yet the IRS has
announced that only a 4-digit will be allowable in 1999. There may
be problems in the spring of 1999 when, using non-compliant
equipment, people try to do that,
POSSIBILITY OF RELOCATION
Be prepared to relocate to a shelter for warmth and protection
during a prolonged power outage.
Keep items you would most likely need during an evacuation
in an easy-to-carry container. Be prepared to leave. Depending on
the situation and the mode of transportation, this might be a large,
covered garbage can, a camping backpack, or a duffle bag.
Store this kit in a convenient place known to all family members. Or give one to each member. Keep a smaller version of this
Disaster Supply Kit in the trunk of your car. Keep items in air-tight
plastic bags.
Be sure to take blankets, sleeping bags, etc., with you.
Plan first, second, and third choice places (homes, relatives,
business) where you will go to reunite your family. Select two outof-state relatives you will call if your family members are separated
in a crisis. Have a secret hiding place at each location where you
have food and supples and/or can leave a message if you must
leave the location. Each family member should carry a copy of this
information. Even your small children will have this, so adults
can notify you if they become lost.
Give each family member a message beeper. Then have a few
practice “emergencies.” Teach each one how to turn off the household gas and electricity, and put out fires with salt, baking soda,
water. Hold practice sessions. We put out a dangerous trailer fire
by throwing wet towels over the beginning fire.
OTHER PREPARATIONS TO MAKE
Develop a sense of urgency, and pursue that strategy with a
vengeance.
43
Make sure your computers are backed up properly! Have the
information on them stored so you can later retrieve it.
Have a battery-operated radio for information about what is
happening, where shelters are located. Knowing what is happening locally and in the nation in a crisis would be information you
should have. Are riots taking place? Are the banks still open? Is
the economy collapsing?
If possible, change your stored drinking water every 6 months,
so it stays fresh. Rotate your stored food every 6 months.
Re-think your family needs at least once a year. Replace batteries, update clothes, etc. Ask your physician or pharmacist about
storing prescription medications.
Contact your local emergency management of civil defense office and your local American Red Cross chapter. Find out which
disasters are most likely to happen in your community. Ask how
you would be warned. Find out how to prepare for each.
Meet with your family and discuss the types of disasters that
could occur. Explain how to prepare and respond. Discuss what
to do if advised to evacuate. Practice what you have discussed.
Plan how your family will stay in contact, if separated by disaster. Pick two meeting places: (1) a location a safe distance from
your home, in case of fire, and (2) a place outside your neighborhood, in case you cannot return home. Choose an out-of-state
friend as a “check-in-contact” for everyone to call.
Also do this: Post emergency telephone numbers by every phone.
Show responsible family members how and when to shut off water, gas, and electicity at the main switches. Install a smoke detector on each level of your home, espeically near bedrooms. Test
them monthly and change the batteries twice a year.
Meet with certain neighbors: Plan how you could work together
after a disaster. Know their skills (medical, technical). Consider
how you could help neighbors who have special needs, such as
elderly or disable persons. Make plans for child care in case parents cannot get home.
Remember to practice and maintain your plan.
STILL MORE THINGS TO CONSIDER
Request copies of all your medical records ahead of time.
Save canceled checks (so you can prove you made your pay-
44
How to Prepare for Y2K
ments).
Do not purchase a home at the end of 1999 or just afterward.
Avoid flying at the turn of the year or for a little while thereafter.
Do not make any phone calls on New Year’s Eve. A phone call
started just before the end of December 31, 1999, and carried over
past midnight, could be billed as 52 million minutes long (60 minutes x 24 hours x 365 days x 99 years).
Try to get out of debt (except for your home mortgage).
If you want to remove cash from banks, do not wait until the
end of the year—when everyone else will be doing it! If a run on the
banks is made, laws could be quickly passed to shut down the
banks.
Pay January 2000 bills early (and be sure you obtain a receipt).
If you have an unused RV or travel trailer in your driveway
with a propane stove, fill up the propane tank and hang onto the
camper rig.
HOME PROTECTION
In time of local or national crisis, you will need the guardianship of angels. Plead with God for help and protection.
One expert recommend that everyone have a shotgun and rifle
for personal protection and hunting wild game in time of crisis, as
well as a supply of pepper spray. Another survival expert suggests
purchasing 6 wasp and hornet sprays (cheaper than tear gas and
as powerful). But the Lord is the best protection you can have.
Some may wish to install dead bolts on outside doors and
windows.
SPECIAL CATALOGS
An outstanding catalog is Lehman’s Non-Electric Catalog ($3.00).
Order a copy today. P.O. Box 321, Kidron, Ohio 44636 (330-8575757) (Lehmans.com). —All kinds of things are in this catalog!
The variety is fabulous. It includes grain mills, cast iron cookware, canning and juicing equipment, heating and cook stoves,
refrigerators (propane and diesel), solar power, toilets, washing
machines, water pumps and buckets, ram pumps, water heaters,
tools, wagons, buggies, and gardening and farming tools and equipment.
Here are more catalogs:
Natural Lifestyle. (800-752-2775) (natural-lifestyle.com).
45
Campmor, P.O. Box 700-A, Saddle River, New Jersey 074580700 (800-226-7667). Camping gear especially.
Richters Herb Catalog, Goodwood, Ontario L0C 1A0 (905-6406677; fax 905-640-6641) (richters.com).
BARTER ITEMS
Here is something to consider while there is still time to do it.
You might wish to acquire some barter items. These are things you
can later trade with the neighbors for garden food, etc.
There are five criteria which make a product useful for barter:
(1) Not easily made at home. (2) High consumer demand. (3) Durable in storage. (4) Divisible in small quantities. (5) Its authenticity is easily recognizable.
You may not stock up on all of the following, but having a few
would be good:
Liquid detergent, laundry detergent, rubbing alcohol, bleach,
toothbrushes, razor blades, toilet paper, aluminum foil, writing
paper, typing paper, pens, pencils, erasers, shoelaces, string, cord,
rope, fishing line, insect repellent, water repellent, paint, varnish,
matches, watches, tape, light bulbs, sewing supplies (such as
needles, thread, zippers, buttons) aspirin, vitamins, seeds, grain,
sugar, burn ointments, safety pins, manual can opener, knives,
canning jars, lids, rings, socks, underwear, winter clothes, coats,
blankets, quarts of multi-viscosity motor oil, anti-freeze, wire, glues,
bolts, screws, and/or nails.
AND MORE THINGS TO CONSIDER
Every time you shop, purchase double or triple amounts. Stock
up. You may be able to help others when the crisis comes. Remember Joseph in Egypt. He helped his family when they had their
“Y2K” crisis.
Find alternate methods of doing things.
Eliminate non-essentials from your life. Eliminate all those time
wasters and money wasters and extra belongings you do not need.
Get rid of your television set.
Simplify your lifestyle. Learn to say no to things or activities
which do not make you self-sufficient.
Begin treating things as though they were not replaceable. Figure out how to do without. Buy things that will last. Obtain equipment which does not need electricity.
Always have more than one way to do something.
Organize your life. If you live in a disordered manner, it will
cause you grief later on.
Eliminate distractions from your life. Be God-centered. He
should be first, last, and best in all your plans and activities.
Believe that, with God’s help, you can do it; then go ahead and
tackle the job. Toughen up. Learn to get in and work, and carry it
through to success.
Do not be spread too thin in your daily life. Take time with
God and with others. Only certain things in life really matter.
Train your family to be guarded. Teach your children to not
give information to a stranger. Be prepared for trouble ahead.
Get rid of things you do not use or need.
What items do you use daily that must be replaced by a third
party? Could you make them in a pinch? If you could not, do you
have spares?
Your first big mistake would be failure to prepare. Your second
big mistake would be to rely on those preparations. Seek God for
the help you need! He alone can guide and care for you through
the coming crisis—and all the others.
Begin immediately. Start preparing!
Begin incrementally. Start preparing little by little. Every week
add to your preparation.
Work with others. Some are better on water, others on electricity. Working together, you will accomplish more.
APPENDIX 1: PREPARATION TIME LINE
This is a very brief sprinkling of points discussed in the preceding pages, but it will help you see the forest from the trees:
It is Spring 1999. Rededicate your life to God. You only have a
little time left. Death comes quickly to all of us.
If you have not moved out of the city yet, look for a place in the
country to move to.
Select your garden area. Collect soil samples and send them
off for testing.
Haul in manure so it can rot, later to be used on the garden.
Apply the recommended amount of lime, to make the soil a
little more alkaline. Rely on the manure, leaf mold, etc., to supply
the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash.
Order some of the catalogs listed here; ask friends about other
sources. We have listed only a few.
Go through this book and underline in black everything you
need to stock up on. Start doing so.
Go through the book again and underline in red all the equipment you could get. Circle those items you want to order. Start
doing so.
Review all your financial assets. Begin getting out of stocks and
bonds. Gradually, week by week, withdraw more savings from the
bank. Pay your debts.
Get rid of all your excess baggage.
Begin installation of the various equipment you are getting. Test
it out.
Install the special electrical circuit, for your generator backup
electrical system.
Following a family pre-announcement, turn off the electricity
for one day that you and others in your family will be at home all
day. Proceed with a variety of regular duties. Try include washing
some clothes and drying them. What could you not do? Did you
need to? What other preparations yet need to be made?
If you have small ones, decide whether you will stock up on
boxes of diapers or will return to the old-fashioned method. Try it
for a day and you will know what will work best for you.
Turn off the water another day. Better yet, turn it off the same
day you turn off the electricity. —Because that is what is likely to
happen later.
Turn off the propane on another day, and see how well you do.
Go back to the drawing board, and list other things to be done.
Set to work doing them.
By this time, it should be late spring. Plant your garden, and
learn from your mistakes. What went wrong? How could you have
done better?
It is now late summer, and time to plant your kale. Plant a lot
of it, enough for your family and nearby friends.
Harvest the last of your crops, including the Hubbard squash.
Spread it out, one layer high, on newspapers in a room which will
stay dry and cool, but will not freeze. You can harvest and cook it
throughout the winter as a fresh, starchy food.
September is now nearing its end, and you have ordered nearly
all your equipment and supplies. You will try to obtain more, but
may have a much more difficult time doing so.
By this time, you have sold your stocks and bonds, and pulled
48
How to Prepare for Y2K
all the money out of the bank which you intended to remove. Before the end of the year, serious runs on the bank will occur.
By this time, you have obtained copies of all your legal, medical, and personal records. Those papers are all organized in large
envelopes in one place, preferably a box of some kind.
By this time, you have your equipment and fuel storage facilities, and they are full of fuel. From this point onward, there are
several more things to be done:
Finalize on obtaining receipts for every purchase, etc., and obtaining the latest copies of your financial records (bank statements,
credit card account status, home mortgage papers, etc.).
At some point in the last two months of the year, vaccum and
clean your house thoroughly. Also thoroughly clean around your
home. You may not easily be able to do so later for quite some
time. If there are extra things to be washed or dry-cleaned, do it
now.
Listen to the hourly news on the radio. If you have shortwave
or web, you also use it to keep in contact with what is taking place
elsewhere in America and overseas.
Gas up the car frequently, keeping it full.
At the end of the year (Friday, December 31, 1999 to Monday,
January 3, 2000), you go nowhere! Instead, stay home, pray for
God’s blessing on those who need it, and be aware of what is
happening in the world.
The new year begins.
In Part One of this book I have listed everything I can think of
which might help you in the days ahead. Your heavenly Father will
provide you with even better wisdom as to what needs to be done,
as you seek Him in prayer.
APPENDIX 2: VOLTAGE REFERENCE GUIDE
Actual running watts may vary. Refer to your owner’s manual
for actual wattage. On the left, below, is listed the appliance or
machine, and on the right is the running watts. (That is not the
starting watts! Allow 3 times the listed watts for starting devices
which have motors.)
Air Conditioner (12,000 BTU)
Battery Charger (20 amp)
1700
500
49
Belt Sander (3-in.)
1000
Chain Saw
1200
Circular Saw (6½ in.)
600-1000
Coffee Maker
1000
Compressor (1 HP)
2000
Compressor (¾ HP)
1800
Compressor (½ HP)
1400
Curling Iron
700
Deep Freeze
500
Disc Sander (9 in.)
1200
Edge Trimmer
500
Electric Nail Gun
1200
Electric Range (I element)
1500
Electric Skillet
1250
Furnace Fan (1/3 UP)
1200
Hair Dryer
1200
Hand Drill (1 in.)
1100
Hedge Trimmer
450
Lawn Mower
12000
Light Bulb
100
Microwave Oven
700-1000
Milk Cooler
1100
Oil Burner on Furnace
300
Oil Fired Space Heater (140,000 BTU)
400
Oil Fired Space Heater (85,00 BTU)
225
Paint Sprayer, Airless (1/3 HP)
600
Paint Sprayer, Airless (hand-held)
150
Radio
50-250
Refrigerator
600
Slow Cooker
200
Submersible Pump (1½ HP)
2800
Submersible Pump (1 HP)
2000
Saw Pump
600
Table Saw (10")
1750-2000
Television
200-500
Weed Trimmer
500
Allow 3 times the listed watts for starting these devises.
50
How to Prepare for Y2K
51
52
How to Prepare for Y2K
A Closer Look at Y2K
53
— PART 2 —
A closer look at
Y2K
and how dangerous it might be
FACTS YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF
There are facts you should be aware of—and those facts are
astounding.
Considering the entire situation, the four most serious problems will be these:
1 - An electric power grid failure. This appears to be inevitable,
and when it goes down, it will result in a crisis in transportation,
food supply, shipping for businesses and commerce, water supplies, and dozens of other areas.
2 - Lack of government preparedness. There will be no retirement checks, defense system, and dozens of other areas of government operation.
3 - The collapse of the U.S. stock market. The 1929 fall resulted in economic hovac for the entire world.
3 - Extreme lack of preparedness by foreign governments and
businesses. This alone could produce a worldwide depression. It
could also lead to war.
4 - The very real danger of riots and a consequent U.S. government takeover.
Maybe you do not want to read any further.
— INTRODUCTION —
54
How to Prepare for Y2K
Friday evening, December 31, 1999, will be the night to
be dreaded. Many businessmen will go to bed with a heavy
heart, some with thoughts of financial terror.
At 12 midnight on January 1, 2000, large numbers of
the world’s main frame computers will either begin feeding out gibberish or will shut down entirely.
You and I have heard about this “Y2K” problem for
several years now. I have recently checked into it—and it
really does exist. Perhaps some of the problems will be
fixed in time, but it is now certain that a sizeable number
will not.
Here is how one individual describes the situation:
“We’ve got a problem. It may be the biggest problem that the
modern world has ever faced. I think it is . . Tens of millions—
possibly hundreds of millions—of pre-programmed computer chips
will begin to shut down the systems they automatically control.
This will create a nightmare for every area of life, every region of the
industrialized world.
“It’s called the year 2000 problem. It’s also called the millennium bug, Y2K, and millennium time bomb.”—Gary North, “The
Year 2000 Problem: The Year the Earth Stands Still,” in “Y2K”
Links and Forums.
“Y2K” is short for “Year 2000.” The Y2K problem seems too
fantastic to seem true, so this report will primarily consist of
quotations from authorities who are experts in their fields.
As this is written, there is in hand a 17-page report by one of
the leading financial houses in New York City: J.P. Morgan
Securities, Inc. It is devastating. Listen to this; it was written in
the summer 1997:
“We believe the Year 2000 problem will be the single most significant event in the information technology services industry
over the next few years and will likely have a lasting effect on the
industry into the next millennium . .
“Awareness has grown significantly, but action [to solve the problem] has been slow. Refusing to believe that cost estimates for complying with Year 2000 requirements can really be so huge, many
corporate executives seem to be in a state of denial. But guess
what? The true costs will almost certainly be even higher than
current estimates, and that’s not even the worst news!
“It is becoming clear that the cost of satisfying Year 2000 re-
55
quirements will be significantly larger than anyone thought, with
some companies spending hundreds of millions of dollars. These
expenses will be a major influence on shaping corporate budgets
(and not just technology budgets) for the next several years.
“Cost is not the largest problem, however—time and people are
the scarcest resources. Compliance will represent a reasonably close
call for everyone, but corporate and governmental entities not yet
currently mobilized and actively working on the problem are already in deep trouble.
“We expect triage will be the key during most of 1997, as corporate executives organize resources to address their top-priority problems and seek expedient methods of addressing less critical ones.
Options include replacing, repairing, or retiring (including outsourcing) systems and businesses that are noncompliant.
“Governments worldwide and international corporations appear
to be even further behind than U.S. companies. Despite an aggressive schedule laid out by the Office of Management and Budget, the
U.S. Federal Government has made little progress in actually addressing the problem.
“Meanwhile, the European Community is proceeding on its merry
way in moving to a single currency (the euro), seemingly unaware
of the additional formidable systems challenges.”—William D. Rabin
and Terrence P. Tierney, J.P. Morgan Securities, Inc. Equity Research Department, “Industry Analysis: The Year 2000 Problem,”
May 15, 1997, New York.
Yes, the Y2K crisis is real and, as this is written, it is less than
a year and a half away. Consider this: Chase Manhattan Bank said
in a routine filing that it planned to spend $250 million on the
problem over the next three years, to fix its 200 million lines
of code (200 million for that one company alone!). That business organization is not alone: AMR (parent of American Airlines),
Hughes electronics, and a number of other leading firms have announced they plan to each spend over $100 million to fix the problem in their companies. But the experts consistently predict that
these estimates are far less than what the actual costs will be.
Visa and Mastercard have asked member banks to hold off
issuing cards that expire in 2000 or beyond because some of the
transaction processing systems cannot handle them. Both
groups have threatened to fine banks that are not Year 2000
compliant. The situation is expected to get worse.
Coopers and Lybrand estimates that an average-sized
company with 8,000 uncorrected programs—or 12 million
56
How to Prepare for Y2K
lines of code—would have to change the data reference in
one out of every 50 lines. To greatly add to the problem,
they declare that virtually every line of code will have to be
tested.
Dr. Edward Yardeni, a financial consultant to the top firms
in America, has prepared a 21-page report which we have. He
is chief economist at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell. His report was
written this month (June 10, 1998). Here is the opening paragraph:
“The Year 2000 Problem (Y2K) is a very serious threat to the
U.S. economy. Indeed, it is bound to disrupt the entire global
economy. If the disruptions are significant and widespread, then
a global recession is possible. Currently, I believe there is a 60%
chance of such a worldwide recession, which could last at least 12
months starting in January 2000 and could be at least as severe as
the 1973-1974 global recession. That downturn was caused by the
OPEC oil crisis, which is a useful analogy for thinking about the
potential economic consequences of Y2K. Just as oil is a vital resource for our global economy, so is information. If the supply information is disrupted, many economic activities will be impaired, if
not entirely halted.”—Dr. Edward Yardeni, Year 2000 Recession?
Monograph.
Yardeni then goes on to explain in some detail how he gradually
moved his 1997 estimate of a 30% likelihood of recession—up to
60% in mid-1998, after studying various business and government
reports. He concludes his careful assessment with these words:
“OMB [the U.S. Office of Management and Budget] released its
fourth progress report on March 10, 1998, for the three-month period ended February 15, 1998. After studying it very carefully, I
concluded that there is an increasing chance that vital government services will be delayed, disrupted, impaired, and curtailed
in 2000. This precarious situation implies that foreign governments, as well as many business organizations around the world
may fail to meet the deadline too.
“Therefore, I raised the odds of a severe global recession to 60%
on March 16, 1998 . .
“The recession could begin before January 1, 2000, perhaps during the second half of 1999, if the public becomes alarmed and
takes precautions. If stock prices fall sharply in 1999, in anticipation of a recession in 2000, the resulting loss in confidence could
cause consumers to retrench in 1999 [stop making unnecessary
purchases, as well as sell their stock] and trigger a recession sooner
as well. It could start in 1999 if bankers cause a credit crunch by
57
refusing to lend to companies that are most at risk of failing in
2000. If these companies are not bailed out by their key vendors or
customers, they might start failing next year.”—Ibid.
As source for the concluding two sentences in the above
paragraph, Yardeni cites an article in a leading banking journal
(Jay Golter and Paloma Hawry, “What Every Loan Officer
Needs to Know about the Year 2000 Computer, But Doesn’t
Know How to Ask,” in FDIC Banking Review, March 1998).
If such experts as these believe that an economic crisis is
looming, who are we to question it? Read this:
“Edward Goldberg, executive vice president of operations, services and technology for Merrill Lynch, warned in mid-April 1998,
that his company “just won’t do business” with any other broker or
vendor that doesn’t pass industrywide Y2K testing that began during the summer of 1998. His comment, reported by Reuters (April
15, 1998), suggests that Y2K-compliant companies may start to
join together in Y2K fortresses and shut out businesses that are
not expected to be ready for the century date change. Such a
fortressing trend could very well cause a recession in 1999 if the
Y2K barbarians are left to die outside the fortress wall.”—Ibid.
On June 19, 1998, Dick Millers, an economist, wrote this:
“I base this curve on deJager’s prediction that companies must
start Y2K remediation by 1997-11-07 [November 7, 1997] at the
latest to have any hope of fixing their critical systems. If they
started a year earlier than that, they could fix both the critical and
noncritical ones. I presume that even noncritical systems are there
for business reasons and that, if they are not fixed, it will have a
negative effect on earnings. Since January 1997 is the last possible moment to start and fix everything, there is trouble ahead . .
“The costs of fixing and testing old software may well exceed the
costs of replacements, if only time was available. Further, if the
Y2K effort [by an organization] is doomed to fail anyhow, then last
minute spending just helps deceive investors and creditors into false
optimism longer, and may push the time of liquidation sales into a
buyer’s market period.”—Dick Mills, “Schedule of Y2K Remediation: a Statistical Approach.”
Gary North says it this way:
“Everything is tied together by computers. If the computers go
down or can no longer be trusted, everything falls apart. And it
matters not a whit to the computers whether we accept this fact or
not. They do what they’ve been programmed to do. They’ve been
programmed to recognize 2000 as 1900. (Uncorrected PC archi-
58
How to Prepare for Y2K
tecture DOS and Windows-based desktop computers will revert
back either to 1980 or 1984. They can be corrected briefly; but, as
soon as a PC is turned off, the correction dies. It will reboot to 1980
or 1984.)”—Gary North, “The Year 2000 Problem.”
The current Microsoft Windows operating systems will
function correctly when the century changes. However, many,
programs written for Windows are Y2K defective. Your accounting package may be no good in a year and a half.
Can the Y2K problem really be so bad? Here is a simplified
explanation, by Jay Golter and Paloma Hawry. Golter is a
financial analyst in the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation’s Division of Research and Statistics. Hawry is a
manager at the Actoras Consulting Group in Schaumburg,
IL. The article in FDIC Banking Review, quoted earlier, was later
expanded into a 27-page analysis, a copy of which I have. Consider this:
“Early computer programmers worked around a variety of constraints imposed by the emerging technology. Two of the biggest
constraints were the usable memory of the machines and the costs
of storing data.
“One technique used to circumvent these limitations was to represent dates with an implied century. For example, a date field holding the value “01/01/56” meant “January 1, 1956” not “1856” or
“2056.” Use of this convention reduced the amount of storage required and improved processing speeds. For the few applications in
which valid dates could span a century (for example, birth dates for
the general population in which some people are 1 year old and
others may be 101 years old), the specific date fields would be
expanded accordingly . . The technique of representing years with
two digits was also used when the microchips that are embedded
in many kinds of machinery and equipment were hard-coded.
Other programming shortcuts, as well, were applied to dates in
ways that can create problems by the end of the century.”—Jay
Golter and Paloma Hawry, “Circles of Risk.”
Here is the picture, from another standpoint:
“The bug at the center of the Year 2000 mess is fairly simple. In
what’s proving to be a ludicrously shortsighted shortcut, many
system programmers set aside only two digits to denote the year
in dates, as in 06/15/98 rather than 06/15/1998. Trouble is, when
the computer’s clock strikes 2000, the math can get screwy. Datebased equations like 98 - [minus] 97 = 1 become 00 - 97 = -97.
That can prompt some computers to do the wrong thing and stop
others from doing anything at all.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
59
These dates were used for the beginning, intermediary and terminal dates, as well as time span periods—for government, businesses, and all kinds of equipment. Here is but one example of
what can happen:
“A system that orders replacements for a particular part every
five years might record that a part was last installed on June 1,
1992. On June 1, 1997, the system would calculate that “97/06/01”
- “92/06/01” represented five years and that the part needed replacing. In the year 2000 however, the system might conclude that the
part was -97 years old (“00/01/01” - “97/06/01” equals -97 years).
How the computer would then proceed would depend on how the
programming instructions had been written. Some systems might
recognize the calculated age as invalid, and generate a report listing
such occurrences for further investigation. Other systems might leave
the replacement parts unordered, since they would never have
reached a calculated age of five years. In the second case, the part
would eventually wear out and fail. Depending on the function of
the part and the machinery it belonged to, this failure could result in the production of defective merchandise, significant downtime while the defective part was identified and a replacement
was ordered and installed, or, in the worst case, serious injury or
loss of life if the part was essential to the safe operation of the
equipment.”—Golter and Hawry, Circles of Risk.
We might wonder how foolish those people were back there,
that they did this. Did they not realize a terrible crisis would occur
at the end of the century as a result of their dating abbreviation?
All they left out was “19”; yet, what a terrible problem the civilized
world now faces because of it. Golter and Hawry tell us that, 20
and 30 years ago, the programmers and their managers knew
that changes would have to be made—but they assumed later
programmers would do so. Instead, everyone remained in the
“omit 19” rut—into the 1990s!
“To the extent that the eventual consequences of using date shortcuts were contemplated during the 1960s and the 1970s, it was
believed that the underlying programs would be replaced well before the century changed and that if they were not, there would be
plenty of time to correct the problem. Unfortunately, this attitude
endured long enough so that some software written even as late as
the 1990s contains the same date problems, and some equipment
being sold today will malfunction in the next couple of years. But
with the century now drawing to a close, the time left in which to
correct this problem is rapidly shrinking.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
60
How to Prepare for Y2K
Well, what is involved in solving the problem; that is, getting
the computer programs operating correctly? One alternative is slow,
painstaking work modifying every program; the other is to discard the faulty programs and start over again. But throwing out
the bad programs would mean disaster on an even greater scale.
So much information, of every possible kind, is already stored—
and keyed to the older, faulty programs.
So what does the slow, painstaking correctional route involve? Hard work, over a number of years, by a small army of
expensive programmers. The problem here is that many firms
did not start soon enough to clean up their programs; every
line has to be checked and tested. The testing part alone is
time consuming; and, last but not least, there are not
enough programmers available to do the job!
“In most cases, modifying any part of a program that has date
problems is not especially difficult. What is difficult and what makes
Year 2000 remediation programs especially challenging and timeconsuming is the need to (1) find all of the places where date
problems might lead a program to miscalculate or terminate; (2)
coordinate the repair of each part of the overall system so that no
one repair interferes with the operations of the other parts of the
system; (3) test the repair by using data that accurately mimics
the other parts of the system, and (4) complete the project without
granting any time extensions.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
The cost of doing this will be fabulous!
“Scanning for date logic, modifying code, and, especially, testing
the revisions as units and as parts of an integrated system, as needed
to bring a large scale system into date compliance is time-consuming and therefore expensive. The estimate used by many firms to
budget for the conversion project has been $1.00 per line of code.
But, as the shortage of programmers qualified to work on the
problem intensifies, remediation costs will rise.”—Ibid.
Multiply one dollar per line of code by all the lines of
code which need to be corrected. It is estimated that there
are not millions, but billions of lines of code which need
checking, correction, and testing!
But, even if all that were done—because there was enough
time, money, and programmers to do it,—Golter and Paloma
Hawry declare that problems would still result. As but one
example, they cite the fact that much of the modern equipment
in the home, office, factory, or on the train, airplane, etc.,
contains “imbedded” computer chips. The equipment will
61
not operate properly without them, yet it may be too difficult to replace the chips in all that equipment! In many
cases, the chips are imbedded too solidly to be changed.
But, not only must there be enough time, money, and programmers to do the job,—there must also be the incentive. Oddly
enough, many firms have been remarkably slow to start doing
anything about the problem. The top-level managers, who have
to make such expensive decisions, know they will retire soon—
and they want to keep their stockholders happy with the profits coming in while they are in charge. (They are rewarded handsomely with big salaries for doing so.)
“Our first response when we hear this news is denial. Most people
stay in denial, including the business managers whose companies
are totally vulnerable to computer failure. This is why the problem
will not be fixed. Everyone in authority will deny that time has run
out to get this fixed, right up until December 31, 1999. They are
paid to deny this.”—Gary North, “The Year 2000 Problem.”
North is somewhat extravagant in his gloom and doom
pronouncements, yet there is truth in his analysis. Because of
this “peace in our time” attitude, many firms started trying
to solve the problem just a little too late. As a result, to one
extent or another, they may be caught in the January 2000
business crisis.
“There are grim reports that corporate America isn’t taking the
Y2K task seriously enough, a danger that will be highlighted this
week at Senate subcommittee hearings. The Senators will be told
that an examination of recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings found that 60% of the U.S.’s biggest companies had
not completed the first step of assessing whether their systems
are ready for the new century—much less begun fixing the problems. “That’s a disturbing percentage at this late date,” says Steven
Hock, president of Triaxsys Research, which studied the SEC filings.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
— CIRCLES OF RISK —
The 27-page “Circles of Risk,” by Golter and Hawry, is one of
the most exhaustive analyses of the problem and how it will affect
the nation and the world. Let us briefly summarize these six
ever-widening circles:
The first circle consists of core information systems. This
62
How to Prepare for Y2K
would be the software which runs the computers. Functions
likely to be automated (and thus subject to Y2K problems) would
include payroll and benefit administration, inventory management,
accounting, accounts payable and receivable processing, scheduling of staff, production, deliveries, or repair.
To date, most of the Y2K correctional work has been in
this field. As mentioned earlier, each line of code must be
checked, modified when necessary, tested, and replaced as
needed. Every important component of the systems must be
checked.
But the firm may also be relying on the giant computers,
called “mainframes” (which they either own or lease space on).
“In some cases, the hardware on which important applications
run will itself be unable to process data after the 20th century. For
example, IBM has announced that it will not provide upgrades to
system 360 mainframes (1970 technology). Some of these platforms
may still be in operation at firms that were unsuccessful in converting to newer equipment. Replacing a mainframe platform is rarely
an easy proposition because some of the software running on the
old system may be incompatible with the new system, requiring
that new application software be purchased or created. ”—Golter
and Hawry, “Circles of Risk.”
There are very serious problems involved in upgrading
older mainframes, because updating the computer language
in them will involve very serious hurdles which are too technical to discuss here.
Many COTS (commercial off the shelf software), which is
now for sale in computer stores, contains the same “omit
19” as did all the older programming! Beware! You may have
a problem in your own computer! Year 2000 patches or upgrades for many COTS applications have not yet been released.
The difficulty of testing and installing will increase with the
number of modifications that the in-house staff has developed.
The second circle of risk involves networks, workstations,
and PCs. This includes e-mail and functions which enable files to
be electronically shared in-house.
The third circle consists of third-party data exchanges, in
which businesses exchange a lot of information with other offices or firms elsewhere. Examples of this would include filing
reports with the IRS, ordering or receiving credit reports, ACH
transactions, and cash management reports.
63
A significant problem here involves programs in someone
else’s computer, which you “data exchange” to, which are not
“compliant”; that is, have not been updated to function correctly
after the year 2000 begins. Their lack of updating can cause you
serious problems.
“Even if only a small percentage fail, the resulting disruptions
are bound to cause some trouble, and worse if the minority of noncompliant Y2K systems have an adverse Domino Effect on compliant ones . .
“In other words, the sum total of all interdependent computer
systems must all be compliant. The network is the computer. A
problem is one system could trigger a Domino effect, which poses a
great risk to all who fail to test whether their local compliant system is compatible with their global network. The networks that
must function perfectly—at the risk of partial or even total failure
include: (1) electrical power systems, (2) telecommunications,
(3) transportation, (4) manufacturing, (5) retail and wholesale distribution, (6) finance and banking, (7) government services and
administration (including taxation), (8) military defense, and (9)
international trade.”—Dr. Edward Yardini, “Year 2000 Recession?”
The fourth circle of risk involves plant facilities and equipment. As mentioned earlier, this would include pieces of equipment, including telephone switchboards, security systems, etc.
Some manufacturing processes rely on control systems that receive time-stamped data from sensors, which analyze elapsed
time and send a message to do something at a certain time.
This type of computer procedure is used in millions of units in
the Western world. In much of it, the “19” is missing.
“To determine in advance which machinery will be impaired,
an organization has to know how the machinery was designed,
and what the specifications of the embedded microprocessors are.
However, many organizations are having great difficulty uncovering this important information.”—Ibid.
The potential problems here involve not only industry,
transportation, communication, and government, but also
various types of health care.
“The potential failure of embedded microprocessors could expose some organizations to even greater risks than those they face
if data-processing systems malfunction. For example, much of the
equipment used in a hospital, including patient monitors, automatic drug-dosing devices, MRI and CAT scan equipment may
rely on embedded technology. Failure of equipment could result
64
How to Prepare for Y2K
in serious injury or death. But hospitals are not the only firms that
may face great risks from the failures of equipment. For example, in
Bhopal, India, in December 1994, an estimated 6,000 people died
when a valve in a Union Carbide Chemical factory malfunctioned.
Many plants that use or produce similarly dangerous chemicals
rely on “smart technology” to monitor and control the process,
and some of these may be vulnerable to Year 2000 malfunctions.”—
Golter and Hawry, “Circles of Risk.”
There are billions of microchip systems embedded in all
kinds of appliances, equipment, security systems, processing
and manufacturing plants, medical devices, and numerous
other vital applications. It will be interesting to see what happens in a year and a half.
The fifth circle of risk involves business partners. Many
business firms closely interact with others. In addition, many
organizations are dependent on third parties which provide
services, such as maintenance, telecommunications, electricity,
water, etc. A flaw in the computers of one would seriously injure
the others. All the computers must work right at the change of the
millennium or everyone involved will suffer. “Just-in-time inventory” systems rely heavily on ordering and receiving a few parts
to build or ship out a product. The Y2K problem will seriously
affect such operations.
The sixth circle of risk involves general economic repercussions to the nation and the world.
Capers Jones, in his study, “The Global Economic Impact of
the Year 2000 Software Problem,” estimated that 1% of large
firms will go bankrupt as a result of the crisis. Regarding midsize firms, we are told:
“There are about 30,000 companies in the mid-size range [which
have 1,000 to 10,000 employees] in the United States, and a 5% to
7% business failure rate would mean that from 1,500 to about
2,100 companies might close or file for bankruptcy as a result of
the year 2000 problem. This is a significant problem and it is an
open question as to whether the impact of the year 2000 problem is
severe enough to trigger a recession.”—Ibid.
In addition, we should not forget government services,
such as traffic lights, subway systems, etc. But we will save
comment on local, state, and federal government preparedness
till later in this report.
Yardeni advises that those firms in recent years which have
65
merged to form still larger corporations could be especially
hard-hit by Y2K. There are so many problems attendant in
merging large companies, that the new entity is far less likely to
have made the changes needed for December 31, 1999.
— CASE STUDIES —
WATERTOWN, NEW YORK
Case study: Watertown, New York.
Charles E. St. James described what happened to his family,
in a letter to Don McAlvany:
“On Janaury 7, 1998, Watertown, New York experienced a devastating ice storm. We lost our power on January 8, at approximately 8:30 a.m. With our home being all electiric, this meant no
heat, water or lights. Initially, we thought we would only be without power for a couple days, but days turned into weeks—three
weeks to be exact.
“Fortunately, we had a wood stove, so were were able to keep
plenty warm and do all our cooking on top of the stove. As for
drinking water, we had filled a few 2 liter bottles of water the night
before, but this would only last a couple of days. Our neighbors
had a pool, which rovided us with water to flush the toilet and
bathe, but only after chiseling thorugh about 6 inches of ice on the
surface of the pool.
“Candles and oil lamps provided our light. Our only link to
the outside wrold was a protable radio for those homes which
had batteries! Our phone lines were also downand little did we
know at the time that they would be down for about a month.
Families weren’t able to get through to see if their relatives were all
right, which caused a lot of anxiety.
“Our refrigerator only kept the food cool for a few days, and
then we had to become resourceful and find ways to try to save
whatever food we had. We gathered ice from the outdoors and put
it in coolers.
“No travel was allowed during the first few days, becuae three
were too manypower lines and trees down, which made it just too
dangerous. Unitl the driving ban was lifted, we had to make do
with what supplies we had on hand. Neightbors looked in on ech
66
How to Prepare for Y2K
other and shared whatever they had. We had plenty of wood, as we
had bought for the whole season, but our neighbors wer coming
to us for wood, which depleted our household supply. If this crisis had gone on long enough, we whould have been without wood
for heat also.
“As the days turned into weeks, supplies were getting low. Once
the driving ban was lifted we were able to venture into the city and
seek out stores which were open. Those that were, only allowed a
few people in at a time with a flashlight. This was no easy task, as
the lines were long and stores were also running low on batteries,
candles, kerosene, etc. For they were unable to get shipments in.
“ Trucks from other states were bringing in supplies by then
there was the problem of price gouging! Money was also running
low in many households because banks were not open and there
were no ATMs.
“People were unable to go to work so therefore lost wages. We
personally own our buiness and were not able to open. When we
did, most of customers were staying with families out of the area
and therefore, we lost a lot of our business. A 5 o’clock (p.m.)
curfew was also put into effect so that the work crew could work
on restoring the power as well as to prevent looting. Anyone found
walking on the streets or driving their cars were ticketed.
“Many people who were not as fortunate as we were to own a
woodstove or other source of heat were forced to leave their homes
and go into shelters. This caused a lot of anxiety because most
people don’t want to have to leave their homes if at all possible.
“After a week of having no power, we resorted to a generator
(which is what a lot of people were doing), but the supply just
couldn’t meet the demand [and] so it took awhile to find one. Many
people had theirs stolen from their yard as they had to be installed outside because of fumes, so those of us who had generators had to take caution to safe guard them. Lesson: The unprepared will plunder and steal from the unprepared in a crisis. So,
as much as possible, keep your preparations very private, except
with family and close friends!
“One would think that during times like this, more people
would turn to the Lord in prayer. Many did, however, most people
felt they were in control and thought praying to the Lord was foolishness. One lesson we learned was to be prepared for such disasters!”—Charles E. St. James, quoted in Don McAlvany, News-
67
letter.
OTHER EXAMPLES
The above story is about a local crisis, but where would those
people have gone—if the crisis had been nationwide?
A power failure threw downtown Auckland into a four-month
crisis. It is New Zealand’s largest city.
Then there is the 1992 riot in Los Angeles. Aside from being
killed, the main problem was food. Most familieds did not have
enough food to get through a weekend. Grocery stores were looted,
closed, or burned. The same with fast-foods and restaurants.
Keep in mind Indonesia, where rioting caused by the financial
crisis, triggered a run on grocery stores—which had their shelves
stripped. Many were then burned.
Where there is a breakdown of supplies, the very fragile, justin-time food delivery system goes down quickly.
U.S. AIR DEFENSE CRISES
WHEN COMPUTERS GIVE WRONG SIGNALS
It can be dangerous when computer chips fail at the turn
of the millennium. It could start a war.
In 1980, a computer-chip failure at Norad—the U.S. command post in Colorado for assessing nuclear attacks—generated
a false alarm of an all-out Soviet missile attack.
As recently as 1995, an American research rocket sent up off
the coast of Norway to study the aurora borealis triggered
Russian computer chips—and so alarmed the Russians that,
for the first time in their history, they activated the nuclear
suitcase that accompanies the president. See Brian Hall, “Overkill Is Not Dead,” The New York Times, March 15, 1998. The
article suggests that, despite the end of the Cold War, the United
States and Russia still have missiles aimed at each other, and
can instantly retarget those that do not have a current forwarding address.
— U.S. SENATE HEARINGS —
THE U.S. SENATE HEARINGS
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How to Prepare for Y2K
On June 12, 1998, the U.S. Senate Committee on the Y2K
Problem began the first of its hearings on threats to the electrical
power grid and other areas of the economy. Because they considered a power grid failure to be the most dangerous, they began
consideration of that topic.
They quickly discovered that the industry was not prepared
for what was coming. A survey which chairman Robert Bennett (RUtah) sent to 10 of the nation’s largest electric, oil and gas utilities
revealed this. Eight of the 10 had not even finsiehd assessing their
automatied systems, which was a first step toward tackling the
problem.
Bennett later warned that intensive Senate investigations revealed that there was a strong likelihood the U.S. power grid would
collapse at the turn of the century.
Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn), committee vice-chairman,
was as pessimistic as Bennett. He said may government and business leaders had not even drafted contingency plans; that is, what
they would do if an emergency occurred.
It was determined that about 6,000 power plants [actually 7800]
are at risk. Included here are a half-million miles of high-voltage
power lines and about 112,000 substations. All of these depend
on built-in, preprogrammed microporcessors, also called embedded chips. Many of them contain the Y2K problem.
On Tuesday, March 10, 1999, this Senate Committee released
its report.
“The report’s conclusions are startling, even going so far as to
urge Americans to stockpile at least small amounts of food and
water to protect against expected brownouts. People are also advised to save all their financial statmeents. In a draft copy of the
report obtained by U.S. News, committee chairmen Robert Bennett
and Christopher Dodd predict that the breakdown of computer
networks unable to process 21st-century dates will ‘one of the
most serious and potentially devastating events this nation has
ever encountered.”—“It’s Official: The Millennial Bug Is Really,
Truly Scary,” U.S. News and World Report, March 8, 1999.
COMPUTER CHIPS
The Institution of Electrical Engineers defines an embedded
system as “a device ued to control, monitor or assist the operation
of equipment, machinery or even an entire plant.” Embedded systems are powered by microchips that contain permanently coded
69
instructions.
What about those little chips? They are in virtually all electronic devices in controllers and perform almost limitless tasks.
They are in safety and security systems in conventional power
plants, water treatment plants, elevators, nuclear power plants,
VCRs, fire engines, ballistic missiles, etc. They verify maintenance
at regular intervals, issue safety warnings, and stop and start operating functions. They control telephone switches, alarms, sprinkler systems. They trigger solenoids to open and close gates, valves,
automatic door locks, railway switches, etc.
Many are not date sensitive; yet, because there are billions of
them in operation, massive numbers are almost impossible to
locate. How many would have to fail in our railways, jetliners,
elevators, traffic systems, factories, electrical grids, ships, and
nuclear power plants—before we would be in a state of chaos?
A key problem here is that, when computer experts put a computer system together, they include standard computer chips—
many of which were designed 10 or 20 years earlier. In addition,
many of these standard computer chips are date sensitive, even
though the equipment may not require dating awareness.
Add to this the fact that it is extremely difficult and time-consuming to check all these computer chips. There are literally billions of them in business and industry.
Because of this, a large amount of equipment which could go
crazy at the turn of the century.
Here is how Dr. Mark Frautschi, a former Johns Hopkins
Univeristy physicist who is a Y2K consultant, described the problem:
“Most chips are made in bulk and are not custom designed for
that one task. A company making timers, for instance, will likely
decide to develop a ‘one size fits all chips’ or the ‘mother of all
chips.’
“Most likely, Frautschi says, ‘that chip will have a date-sensitive
area in the background in case some customer needed that function. That date-sensitive area remains on the chip even when it is
purchased by customers who have no desire to track dates. The
logic: ‘It does not need to keep dates; therefore it does not keep
dates,’ is not based on what is actually happening within the chip.
“ ‘In one example, a business tested three of its elevators, each
controlled with the same type of timing chip from the same com-
70
How to Prepare for Y2K
pany,’ another went to the top floor and stayed while the other went
to the basement (slowly) and closed down.
“How many of these systems are out there? Estimates vary widely.
One expert told the Nes 5 billion chips were shipped last year while
another saad the real figure was 600 billion.
“This discrepancy underscores the simple truth—chips are everywhere: VCRs, microwave ovens, televisions, automatic transmissions, electric utility grids, jet aircraft and military weapons.”—Mark
Frautschi, Ph.D., Rocky Mountain News, August 3, 1998.
“Crawling among pipes and valves n manufacturing plants around
the world, technicians wearing radio headsets are relaying to companions carrying portable computers the locations of digital timebombs [embedded computer chips] ready to go off on the Ultimate
Midnight on December 31, 1999. A massive hunt is on for the millions of computerized devices, machine tools, measure instruments,
computerized valves, and myriad other types of production equipment whose software is tainted with the infamous abbreviation
‘OO’.”—Fortune magazine, April 1998.
“If something went wrong with our business software, that’s
nohting potentially catastrophic compared with what would happen if our embedded systems went out.”—Pete Valdellon, Y2K coordinator for the Kissimmee Utilities Baord, in Orlando (Florida)
Sentinal, April 25, 1998.
Another problem which our power plants and manufacturing
firms face is that computer chips go out of production. Many
chips now installed in equipment—is no longer made.No one
knows what is inside those chips, or what it would take to replace them.
There are over 30 billion computer chips in use worldwide,
and an estimated 5-10% are date-sensitive or non-Y2K compliant. The problem is which is all right and which is not. Tests
reveal that bad chips cause equipment to stop, shut down, or
malfunction when the dates change to January 1, 2000.
Most plants have thousands of these chips. One lrge petrochemical plant, for example, was found to have 150,000 embedded chips.
“Non-compliant embedded chps are buried in millions of systems, any of which mail fail in 200. It’s a world-wide industry problem. Heavy 1980’s reliance on embedded silicon cicrochips for storing dates and other tata has left many businesses, ncluding KUB
and other utilities, vulnerable to far-reaching adverse affects if computer systems cannot comprehend year codes for 2000. Predictions
71
are that millions of embedded microchips will fail in `/2000, affecting everything from telephone systems and fax machines, to military messaging systems, the Global Positiong System, and coal, gas,
hydroelectric and nuclear powered electric plants.”—Ed Medford,
Knoxville Utilities Board, Knoxville News Sentinel, September 21,
1997.
In a CNN interview, Y2K czar John Koskinen said that, out of
4 billion chiops installed int eh U.S. in recent years, an estimated 2-3% were date-sensitive, totalling 80-120 milion embedded chips likely to fail.
None of those old chips can be reprogrammed. They must all
be replaced, one at a time. Many of them are in hard-to-reach
locations, and large numbers are underground.
— ELECTRICITY —
THE ELECTRIC POWER GRID
This is the kingpin problem. When it hits, it will carry everything else down with it. Electrical power is the heart of Western
Civilization.
The electric transmision grid consists of more than 672,177
circuit miles of lines. American’s electric utnility companies spend
almost $8 billion annually maintaining these vital power links to
consumers.
“Many of the most dire Y2K scenarios are predicated on the assumption that the glitch will KO the country’s electric utilities, turning out not only your lights but everything from the pumps at the
gas station to the Slurpee machine at the 7-eleven. It’s a plausible
theory. The conventional and nuclear power plants that produce
our electricity are all controlled to some degree—usually a large
degree—by computers, and some of the suspect programs are etched
directly onto silicon chips, making them even harder to find and fix.
Some utilities have only recently begun the process of ferreting
out potentially weak links in their delivery systems. Worse, since
most utilities are linked to one another in gridlike fashion, there
could be a domino effect, turning local failures into regional blackouts. But there are reasons to believe that blackouts may be averted
or, at worse, short-lived. Most of the larger utility companies have
shifted their Y2K efforts into high gear and are speeding their
repairs by sharing their findings through an online clearinghouse
set up by the Electric Power Research Institute. The utilities are
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How to Prepare for Y2K
also under regulatory pressure. The Department of Energy has set a
July 1 deadline for power companies to provide assurances that
Year 2000 problems will be remedied in time.
“The real assurance, however, may be that many utilities aren’t
counting on complete success. Rather, most plan to have extra people
and manual work-arounds in place for critical systems, according
to Jon Arnold, chief technology officer at the Edison Electric Institute, which represents the public utilities that generate more than
three-quarters of the country’s electricity. ‘People forget that the
electric utilities have equipment failures and outages all the time,’
says Arnold. He acknowledges that ‘it’s not going to be a typical
New Year’s Eve’ in 1999. But he adds, Y2K ‘is not like a storm or a
random failure. We know this one is coming.’ ”—Time, June 15,
1998.
When the power grid goes down, it will take a lot with it. Commenting on this, Senator John McCain said this:
“The Y2K problem may result in failures of air traffic control and
telecommunications, and of computer chips that contro industrial
machinery and public transit systems. Computer cash registers,
individual bank accounts, loans, student records, and payroll systems may be affected.”—Senator John McCain (R-Ariz), chairman
of the Senate Commerce Committee, in Orange County Register,
June 13, 1998.
“Let’s stop pretending Y2K isn’t a major threat to our way of life.
There’s too much at stak for such uninformed wishful thinking. I
say we must act as if we were preparing for war.”—Edward Yardeni,
speech to the Bank for International Settlements, April 7, 1998.
To add to the problem, it is difficult to restart the electric grid,
once it has collapsed.
“Extensive blackouts are the nightmare of the power industry.
Once power is intererupted n large metropolitan areas, diversity of
electric use on teh network is lost. When power is restored, all thermostatically controlled electric loads come back on simultaneously.
This stress, added to the higher demands of many devices such as
motors and transformers, can draw up to 600% of normal load
during restoration procedures.”—American Geophysical Union, in
its publication, Earth in Space, March 1997.
If the entire U.S. power grid were to go down, where would the
power come from (six times the normal power) to restart it? Perhaps we will only experience rolling brownouts and some blackouts. But it could be far worse. Until it happens, we will not know.
“We’re not longer at the point of asking wheter or not there will be
any power disruptions, but we are no forced to ask how severe the
disruptions re going to be.”—Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn),
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vice-chairman, Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Problem, June
11, 1998.
THE ELECTRIC UTILITIES INDUSTRY
How are the public utilities doing? Many of them may not be
prepared when that special date rolls around. Here is a memo
from one utility company:
“There is a good chance many areas of our life may be affected
when the computer interprets 01/01/00—numbers that should
represent January 1, 2000—as January 1, 1900 . . It has been
estimated that all existing programmers today would not totally
solve the problem by January 1, 2000, even if they spent all of
their working time on correcting the date. Almost every piece of
software included that flaw . . One of the potential problems is
the ‘embedded chip,’ which is used by a great number of appliances and automatic gadgets. There are billions in use, and unless they are checked, we may not know until January 1, 2000,
which ones are date-sensitive.”—Tom Purkey, General Manager,
Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association, The Tennessee
Magazine, September 1998.
Not very reassuring. Rick Cowles, a leading expert in the
electrical utilities industry, estimates the chance of a power grid
failure due to Y2K at 100 percent.
“In January [1998], the Public Utility Commission of Texas
surveyed the state’s 176 [electrical] generation and distribution
companies on their Y2K readiness. Only 44 percent responded.
None were yet compliant, and none had any clear idea when they
would be. Among Texas electric co-ops, only 18 percent had
written plans for Y2K preparations, and 24 percent said they
hadn’t yet begun planning. So the PUC . . told them to “monitor
Y2K issues” and then [PUC] put up a web page about the problem.”—PC Magazine, October 6, 1998.
Are you ready for more?
“About 20 percent of U.S. electric power comes from nuclear
plants. But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is required by
law to shut down plants that cannot show they can operate safely.
In June [1998], the NRC wrote the operators of America’s 108
nuclear plants, demanding a statement of compliance, or concrete plans by the end of 1999. The number of compliant plants
so far: 0.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
And then there is this:
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How to Prepare for Y2K
“40% of U.S. power comes from coal-fired plants. But coal
plants require an immense, steady supply of coal, which arrives
daily via huge strings of rail cars. Railroad-car movements in
this country are controlled by aging computers and hidden embedded systems.
“In addition, about 30 percent of our electricity comes from
gas-fired generators. Natural gas is controlled by systems built
around PLCs [microprocessor chips]. And the gas industry has
not been a leader in Y2K preparations.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
The Senate Y2K Committee released a study which showed
that of ten of thenation’s largest oil and gas utilities, serving 50
million people, none had a complete plan in case its computers
failed because of the Y2K problem. Committee chairman, Senator
Robert Bennett said this:
“Only two of the ten utilities had finished an assessment of their
automated systems, which is an early step in the preparation process. One firm did not even know how many lines of computer code
it had, and none had completed a Year 200 contingency plan.”—
U.S. Senate Y2K Report, June 12, 1998.
Just what is required to fix Y2K problems? Figured as a percentage of total time and effort, Awareness is 1% of the project;
Inventory is 1%; Assessment is 5%; Code Remediation is 50-55%
(fixing the computers and chips); and Testing is 40%.
A Febuary 1998 California White Paper on America’s power
plants’ Y2K compliance, most utilities were not past the awreness/
inventory stage. That meant that 98% of the work was still ahead
of them.
Based on that, if, by the end of summer 1998, all 7800 public
utilities had completed their assessment stage,—they would still
have 93-95% of their work yet to do—in less than 500 days.
“If we don’t have power to generate electricity, everything else is
moot.”—Senator Dodd.
When asked by the Senate Commttee, how prepared the utility
industry was for Y2K, James Hocker, chairman fo the Fedferal
Energy Regulatory Commission, made this remarkable statement:
“The state of the Year 2000 readiness of teh utility industry is
largely unknown.”
If the utilitie in the other nations are behind ours in Y2K awareness, which seems likely, then the wolrd will lose its electric power.
If national grids go down and stay down, the world tgoes back to
1850,—but without the skills and tools used in 1850 to cope with
such a situation, and with a vastly larger population.
75
Already some utilities have reported plant failures when they
have tested portions of their system.
Some people say that there really is no problem, for we can
just return to doing everything manually. Actually, if you live in the
country, to some extent you can. But many people—and most businesses will not be able to easily return to that way of life.
Senator Bob Bennett said it best in one of his Senate briefings,
“Twenty years ago, we had the ability to ‘go manual.’ That
infrasructure, that ability to do that, and the equipment to do that—
has been dismantled. It isn’t there anymore, unless you intentionally put it back in.”
Then there is the domino effect: The entire electric power industry is interconnected. They re connected by computers and
computerized equipment linking them together. What affects one
will affect the others. Unless all computers in an industry are fixed,
none of them can be safely maintained. (More on the domino effect
later.)
Jim Lord, a computer consiutant to the U.S. Department of
Defense and other governemtn agencies on the Y2K problem wrote
this recently:
“I am a adding electrical utiliteis tothe greatest risk list. I
believe there is a strong possibility of disruptions ......................
=========== 4 / 7 as marked
........................ systems fail, it will become a done deal.”
Jim Lord concludes with this comment:
“The combined effect of these [electrical and nuclear] shutdowns will be widespread .....................
========= 4 / 7 as marked
....................................and full service. It will not be a happy
time.”
Susan Thomas, world-wide director of UNISYS’ Millennium
Bug Remediation Program, in a March 2, 1998 interview with the
Australian broadcast, said that there were more than 6,000 critical elements involved int he production and distribution of electricity that potentially can be affected by the Y2K problem. UNISYS
cvame up with that figure after working with dozens of lectric power
76
How to Prepare for Y2K
clients aroudn the world on Y2K remediation. She said that the
failure rate may vary form 8-11% for some of the 6000, to a low of
1-2% for some others. But, in order to know which need to be
replaced, all must be tested.
Shall I cite one more serious problem in the electrical industry? We are on the verge of deregulation. Up the present time, the
various power utilities worked together on, what is called, the
“power grid.” But Congress is in the process of deregulating the
utilites, in the hope that the competition will drive down costs to
the consumer.
But, unfortunately, the utilities have never competed, and it is
believed deregulation will only add to the problem. When it begins,
suddenly, on an hourly basis the grid will have to handle tousands
of two-way electricity sales transactions between the utilities,
wherein electricity is bought and sold, somethimes at acution, by
businesses and power geneartion companies.
“There is a fundamental problem that engineers talk about. The
grid was not edeisgned for two-way trading. The potentioal for the
complexity of the system borers on chaos.”—A.M. Borbely, Energy
Services Rsearch, Mountain View, California.
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
The nation’s 110 nculear power plants account for 20-22% of
the nation’s electric power. The following states rely on nuclear
power for over 50% of their electricity: Connecticut, New Jersey,
Maine, Vermont, South Carolina, and Illinois.
Hundreds of automatic controls and thousands of embedded
chips exist throughout a typical nuclear power plant.
In a recent memo to all U.S. nuclear power plants, the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) has warned that control room display systms, radiation monitoring, and emergency response systems are particularly at risk from Y2K faults.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has told nuclear power
companies tht they must be Y2K-compliant by July 1, 1999.
Whether or not they will be, there is an urgent reason for this
requirement:
“The NR C faces a tchnologically impossed dealine. It takes six
months to cool the cores. It take s electriclal power to do this. In
short, it takes the grid to enable the plants to shut down safely.”—
NRC statement.
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If those cores are not cooled down, there could be nuclear
explosions! Read this:
“As a nuclear engineer, I read with great interest the article aboaut
the NRC mandate for all nuke plants to be compliant or else shut
down. I was discussing the article with a couple of friends of mine
who are also nuclear engineers. We were musing about the NCR’s
deadline, July j, 1999.
“At first we could not understand why the plants needed to be
shut down six monthes in advance. Then it hit us. A 1000 electric
megawatt nuclear plant generates about 3000 magawats of heat
energy. That is 3 billion watts of heat energy. When a plant is
scrammed [shut down], the nuclear fission stops almost instantaneously; however, the core still generates a tremendous amount of
heart.
“This heat is called residual heat and is a result of the natural
cooling-off of the core. Under ormanl circumstances, special pumps
clalled Residual Heat Revoval pumps circulate water throught the
core to keep it cool and remove excess heat. Emergency diesel generators can supply power to these RHR pumps whenever power to
the plant is lost.
“Also under normal circumstances, it takes approximately four
months 9depending on the operating power of the core) to cool a
core to the point that loss of cooling will not damage the core. In
other words, nuclear plants need six months to ensure their cores
are cool enough and won’t melt if power to the plant is permanently
lost.
“Imagine the ensuing mess if nukes can’t cool their cores.”—A
nuclear engineer, writing in Grapevine Publications Network Newsletter.
Behind the scenes, nuclear energy officials are scrambling to
prevent their safety mechanisms from failing and triggering a
nuclear meltdown.
“The potential for liability isk so enormous, that there will be
very few nuclear power plant executives willing to say their copanyis
Year 2000-compliant.”—Rick Cowles, manger of the Y2K program
for Digital Equopment Corporation.
SOLAR WINDS
Every 10.5 years, solar sunspots reach their maximum. This
causes solar flares to erupt on the sun’s surface, sending out larger
amounts of solar winds. When these hit the earth, they discupt
electricity and communications. The next sunspot maxium is
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How to Prepare for Y2K
scheduled for around the turn of the century.
The power grid is subject to sharp fluctuations in times of
solar flare storms.
“Solar Cycle 22 (the current 11-year sunspot cycle) which is now
drawing to a close, produced not only above-average, but historic
geomagnetic storm activity. As a consequence, above-average impacts to electrical system reliability occured due to storms, with the
most notable instance resulting in a large area blackout. Also, several well-documented cases convincingly established that large, expensive transformers could be damaged by exposer to Geomatically
Induced Currents (GIC0 that are produced by storms.
“Further, statistical evidence is showing that transformers are
failing at an above-average rate in areas of the United States that
are particularly prone to geomagnetic disturbances, resulting in wellabove-average replacement costs. If that’s not enough, experience
teaches us that the odd numbered Solar Cycles (Cycle 23 in this
case, which is in the process of initiating) have always been more
severe than the enven numbered cycles that they follow.
“Threats to power systems integrity are no longer just academic
speculations with the events that unfolded during the Great Geomagnetic Storm of March 13, 1989. In fact, the entire Hydro Quebec system was plunged into a blackout triggered by GIC caused
voltage collapse and equipment malfunction. The impact of this
particular storm was simultaneously felt over the entire North American continent with most of Hydro Quebec’s neighboring systems in
the U.S. coming uncomfortably close to experiencing the same sort
of voltage collapse/cascading outage scenario . . Wide area blackouts are the nightmare scenario of our industry and geomagnetic
storms that span large regions of the network impose a unique and
previously unanticipated threat to interconnected system operation.
“During the same March 1989 storm, several incidents of transformer heating problems were reported as well. The most significant failure occurred at a GSU (generation step-up) transformer at
a nuclear plant in New Jersey in which a 1,200MVA, 500kV bank
was damaged beyoud repair.
“It is an interesting coincidence that the next major solar flare
storm will hit in the year 2000, compounding and exacerbating an
already highly streassed power grid. Like the “rogue wave” talked
about in earlier issues of MIA, the Y2K computer meltdown, power
company deregulation, and a new solar flare storm are all hitting
about the same time. What will be the impact on U.S. power
plants?”—John Kappenman, head of transmission power engineering at Minnesota Power, Duluth, writing in IEEE Power Engineering Review, April 1996.
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— TRANSPORTATION —
U.S. RAILROADS
Coal-fired electrical plants represent 40% of all power plants
in America. Most fossil fuel plants (coal or petroleum-based) have
only 1 to 3 weeks of reserve fuel storage at any one time.
Coal-fired electrical power plants require deliveries of train loads
of coal—lots of it. Many coal-fired co-generation plants require a
100-car trainload of coal every day, seven days a week.
Yet it would be relatively easy for the production of electricity to
stop—if there was no electrical power for railroad switching and
central controls. It requires electrical power to generate electrical
power.
In the past decade or so, as they have become computer dependent, American railroads have all manual switching and most
of their manpower. All rail car movment and inventory is now controlled by date-sensitive computer programs and embedded chips.
From the best information available, not one railroad is presently Y2K-compliant, and none are likely to be fully compatible by
the turn of the century.
So it is likely that the coal will not be delivered to the coal-fired
electrical generating plants, when the new century arrives.
Thus we find that the electrical power grid could go down in a
flash from a gigantic overload. Or it could go down gradually, here
and there, as the electrical generating plants fail. The end result is
likely to be the same. Not brownout, but blackout.
TRUCKING AND THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY
Without oil, there can be no moving of trucks and automobiles. Without trucks, there will be no food, equipment, and supply shipments to your town and the businesses in your town. Not
only your food will stop, so will all manufacturing and business
operations—big and little.
Without energy (electrical, oil, natural gas, and coal) home life
and business life cannot operate the way we know it. Office buildings would close down and industrial production would cease.
Oil and gas production, refining, and distribution are nearly
as essential as electricity.
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How to Prepare for Y2K
According to the Federal Regulatory Commission, oil and gas
provide 65% of the energy used in the United States. They are used
to power vehicles, heat buildings, and generate electricity. Without
them, waste treatment plants close down, and iron and steel production comes to a stop.
According a Shell Oil estimate, America has about 220,000
miles of oil and gas pipelines. They are to be found all over the
continent, and even under the oceans.
Pumping stations all along these pipelines keep the oil moving
at a steady rate.
“Pipeline control and terminal opertions have become a particularly computer-intensive opeation, relying on computer systems to control pumping and to detect any leaks.”—John Mills,
director of corporate affairs, Shell U.K.
Failed chips could either give false information, or shut down
the system entirely. Some of these chips are underground, or on
the ocean floor. Some of the deepest ones are off the coast of Alaska
and in the North Sea, where the depth of the sea floor is in miles,
not feet. Only a few vessels are able to take divers down to such
depths. Each dive would cost $500,000.
Embedded chips are not only in pipelines and pumping stations, but also in control, metering, calibration, and tracking devices.
“A typical offshore platform or onshore gas plant uses 50-100
embedded systems. These systems contain up to 10,000 individual microchips. We have found that up to half of these systems are critical in terms of production and the impact of our
activities on the environment.”—John Mills.
“As of August, 1998, only 19% of oil and gas producers, refineries, deliverers and gas stations surveyed had examined areas
where problems could occur.”—John Koskinen, Clinton Administration Y2K czar.
Yet assessment is only the first 7% of becoming Y2K compliant.
As of August 1998, 19% of the oil and gas industry had accomplished 7% of what needed to be done to be ready for January 1,
2000.
“Wells may not be drilled on time, oil and gas shipments may
be delayed, and refineries could sit idle. These are just some of
the worries executives at San Antonio-based oil and gas companies have as the millennium approaches.”—San Antonio Business Journal, January 25, 1999.
81
Let us look more closely at the natural gas industry:
Natural gas is a major energy source in the United States. Natural
gas provides 30% of energy productoin and 25% of energy consumption in the nation. More than 50% of the energy consumed
by residential and commercial customers is supplied by natureal
gas. It provides 40% of the energy used by U.S. industry, and 27%
of this production comes from offshore areas. Of all the natural
gas consumed in America, 99% is produced in the U.S.
There are over 60 million residential and commercial natural
gas customers in America. This totals 175,000,000 American consumers. It is used in 53% of American homes (59 million). The
U.S. produces 24% of the world’s natural gas production. It accounts for 11% of the electric power generated.
So natural gas is not something we can easily do without.
Any significant disruption, even though it be short term, in
this supply could cause great difficulties for many of us.
All the natural gas companies work together, and the 1,300,000
miles of transmission and main distribution lines in North America
are interlinked.
The natural gas industry is heavily reliant on guess what? —
embedded chips. They are especially used in PCs, network servers, process logic controllers, transmission, storage, and delivery.
Of the 125 pipeline companies, 1200 distributoin companies,
and 288,000 gas wells,—no one in the natural gas industry is coordinating the fixing of those microchips! The Interstatee Natural
Gas Association, and the Gs Research Institutue are both condicting
surveys of their members, according to Kathleen Hirning, of the
Federal Energy Regulating Commission. And that is it. Surveys,
and little more.
Perhaps some of those companies are trying to fix their Y2K
problems. But, surely, there are others which are not succeeding.
Since they are interlinked, trouble is ahead.
How many pipelines companies will have to experience Y2Krelated failures, before the whole system goes down? Time will tell.
Keep in mind that natural gas provides 25% of the energy consumed in the United States.
SHIPPING
Ships use the GPS (Global Positioning System) to travel from
one place to another. But that system will shut down on August
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How to Prepare for Y2K
22, 1999. (More on this later.)
In addition, there are hundreds of embedded chips employed
in on-board shipping operations, as well as at docking terminals.
The shipping industry relies heavily on out-dated computer equipment.
As if that is not problem enough, read this. It comes from a
high-placed official at the U.S. State Department, presented to a
congressional committee on March 5, 1999:
“Both the Panama and Suez Canals face the risk of disrupted
opoeratoins should their traffic management systems fail, or
should shipos traversing teither canal have problems with their
entines and/or steering systems because of Y2K. Panama Canal
officials told us they will not allow any ships into the Canal’s
locks on Dember 31, 1999.”—Jacquelyn Williams-Bridger,
Insprector General of teh U.S. Department of State, in a 12page report presented to the Sentate Special Committee on
the Year 2000 Technology Problem, March 5, 1999.
THE AIR TRANSPORT INDUSTRY
Then we come to the airplanes. No one knows what to do about
Y2K, but most everyone agrees that they do not want to get on an
airplane when the clocks switch from 1999 to 2000.
When one Y2K expert asked airline pilots what they think about
the matter, he was told that they know of a number of pilots who
intend not to show up for work when the century changes. So do
not worry about plane crashes. The planes may not be flying.
But they will not be flying for another reason: If the planes
were to fly at the turn of the year, the legal dangers would be too
great to all concerned.
“The airports, the municipalities that typically or regulate them,
and the airport service vendors will present greater risks [in case
of accidents] than the insurance industry will be willing to bear.
For lots of reasons, look for severe, worldwide disruptions in air
traffice in January 2000.”—Jim Lord, Global Y2K No-Fly Zone,
December 1998.
As reported by the AFP news agency at a press conference in
paris on November 26, 1998, two high-ranking French officials
said they doubted that there would be any air traffic come January
2000, anywhere in the world!
“It is likely that aircraft will be grounded on January 1, 2000,
out of fear of possible air chaos caused by the year 2000 com-
83
puter bug.”—Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French Finance and
Economy Minister, quoted in AFP news.
That would be a wise decision, for air crashes could cost the
airlines hundreds of millions of dollars in lost aircraft and civil
suits. If they book flights, knowing that Y2K might cause air accidents, the airlines would be accepting a huge liability exposure.
“It is reasonable to expect most airlines to ground their planes
prior to the New Year and stay grounded until deemed safe . . If
the air traffice radar system or contingency paln does not work,
the Department of Transportation will not let anyone fly.”—U.S.
Coast Guard statement, on its web site.
You can expect that all existing reservations will be cancelled,
and the airlines will stop taking new ones. They will keep their
planes safely on the ground when the new year arrives.
“The specter of losses caused by millennium big-related damage has begun to haunt insurance markets . . The airline industry is . . a problem. . At a recent aviation conference one speake
said the question of whether airlines will operate on December
31, 1999 is enteirly in the hands of the insurance industry.”—
Reuters, December 24, 1998.
Ironically, those planes will not be moving on the ground either! Due to Y2K malfunctions in the computers, planes moving
on the ground could collide, just as easily as they could in the sky.
For a period of time, they will just sit tight.
— U.S. BUSINESS —
Newsweek calls it “the day the world shuts down” and “the
event that could all but paralyze the planet.” The Wall Street
Journal calls it “the most expensive accident of all time.” Computer World says “the problem is far worse than even the pessimists believe!”
“Have you ever been in a car accident? Time seems to slow
down as you realize you’re going to crash into the car ahead of
you.
“It’s too late to avoid it—you’re going to crash. All you can do
now is watch it happen.
“The information systems community is heading toward an
event more devastating than a car crash. We are heading toward
the year 2000. We are heading toward a failure of our standard
date format: MM/DD/YY.
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How to Prepare for Y2K
“Unfortunately, unlike the car crash, time will not slow down
for us. If anything, we’re accelerating toward disaster . .
“Our information systems are based on a faulty standard that
will cost the worldwide computer community billions of dollars
in programming effort . . We and our computers were supposed
to make life easier; this was our promise. What we have delivered is a catastrophe.”—Peter de Jager, “Doomsday 2000,” Computer World, September 6, 1993.
—That was written five years ago! Yet today relatively few
businesses and governments in the world are doing much about
the problem. And those which are (primarily in the U.S., Canada,
and Europe) have started correcting the problem too late to
complete it in time.
“The mainstream is now beginning to report a phenomenon
that has been known to computer professionals for years: There
is a computer software and hardware problem of Goliath proportions looming on the horizon. The problem is a result of the
simple fact that for years computer programmers have programmed computers to read and interpret dates using a 2-digit
year. On the cold night of December 31, 1999, as the clock rolls
over to 12:00 midnight, millions of computers and other devices
will begin spewing out bad data, malfunctioning, or simply shut
down.”—Jason Peck, “A Programmer’s Perspective,” April 27,
1998, online data.
MAJOR U.S. BUSINESSES
Senator Robert Bennett’s Y2K Committee reported in June
1998, that 58% of U.S. busnesses polled have not even calculated
Y2K costs; fewer than 60% of U.S. businesses have even completed preliminary assessments to determine the extent of their
problem. The committee concluded that remediation efforts by the
largest corporations fall considerably below levels necessary to avoid
severe business disruption.
A recent poll of 400 chief information officers (CEOs) and chief
executive officers (CEOs) of Fortune 500 companies indicated that
70% of them hav underestimated the dimension and cost of the
problem, more than 70% of those executives do not believe that
repairs will be in place on time, and 50% do not yet have a detailed
plan in place. Most companies have tripled their original estimates
of teh cost of fixing their Y2K problem.
85
By the way, who is going to do the fixing? There are not enough
to do it. Of the 340,000 qualified people in the world to do the job,
according to Peter deJager, twice that number are needed. With
such an acute shortage of software programmers, companies have
been raiding one another’s experts—by offering them high salaries
if they will come work for them.
BUSINESSES—Businesses everywhere have been remarkably
slow in getting started at dealing with this problem. Yet businesses
in America are far ahead of those in most other countries.
For example, in late July 1998, United Airlines issued a
progress report on its efforts to fix its Y2K problem. Viewing it
causes one to draw in his breath. The extent of the problem to be
repaired is fabulous. United Airlines found 40,000 computer
programs that need checking—and 11,000 of these need fixing.
This software affects a wide range of functions from payroll and
accounting to the frequent flyer program to scheduling, reservations, and inventory. United is also scouring flight equipment—
including communications, baggage systems, and avionics—to
see what needs repair.
United says that, to-date, it has completed about 70 percent
of its Y2K work on its critical core computer systems. That
means the airline, like many others, is using triage. It is concentrating on its most vital issues and waiting until later to handle
the remainder.
Arthur Levitt Jr., chairman of the Securities and Exchange
Commission, has sent letters to more than 9,000 publicly traded
companies, demanding accurate reports about their Y2K repair
projects.
BankAmerica is spending $600 million and Citicorp $380
million on their Y2K programs. Merrill Lynch estimates that the
economic impact of fixing this problem will be $600 billion to $1
trillion.
Chase Manhattan Bank runs an estimated 200 million lines
of program codes. They have already allocated $200 million (a
dollar per line of code) to correct their Y2K problems. How many
organizations can afford to spend money like that? Citicorp,
alone, has 400 million lines of code.
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How to Prepare for Y2K
Often businesses use custom-made applications written in
relatively ancient computer languages, such as COBAL. Programmers must be recruited or pulled out of retirement, to check and
correct date calculations buried in thousands of lines of computer code.
The Federal Drug Administration estimates that 2,700 medical device makers (out of 16,000 companies) have products that
could be affected by the Y2K glitch. Yet, despite the life-and-death
implications, only about 500 of those firms have reported that
they are trying to solve the problem.
What if only 5 percent of the businesses fold because of Y2K?
Or 5 percent of the medical equipment starts killing people?
What if only 5% of the banks fail? Even a little failure would
powerfully affect the nation.
What about the automobile industry? The chairman of Dana
Corporation, one of the larger parts suppliers to General Motors,
recently said that Y2K is the biggest problem ever to confront the
U.S. auto industry. That comment would indicate it is bigger than
crisis which began in 1929, when the Great Depression caused
auto stocks to drop 90%.
“Amazingly enough, machines on the factory floor are far more
sensitive to incorrect dates tha we ever anticipated. When we
tested robotic devices for transition into the year 2000, for example, they just froze and stoppped operating.”—Ralph J.
Szygendon, chief information officer at General Mtors, Fortun
magazine, April 27, 1998.
Most of the 100,000 suppliers to General Motors are not Y2Kcompliant, or even close to it. According to above article in Fortune
magazine, GM and the other auto companies are higly dependent
on embedded chips.
General Motors alone is spending over $1 billion on solving
Y2K, but it appears that parts suppliers will still bring it down.
More on this later under “The Domino Effect.”
The major Ameircan auto companies have over a billion lines
of code and hundreds of thousands of chips embedded in equipment. All of it must be examined and, when necessary, repaired.
Next to the utilities, the communications industry is crucial to
our modern way of life. Add to that transportation. It appears that
Y2K will have a deadly effect on all these. Let us consider U.S.
87
telephones and telecommunications:
Lou Marcoccio, a resarch director with the Gartner Group,
says there is a 50-60% chance each major carrier will experience at
least one failure of a mission critical system. Yet most of the major
phone and telecommunications companies have already spend billions of dollars to solve the Y2K problem.
However, the communications industry appears to be better
prepared than many other industries.
To whatever degree, the phone and telecommunications goes
down, it will take with it business, government. Police and fire
protection will be stopped in its tracks.
While we are on that subject, read this:
“The vast majority of police and fire equipemtn is not year
2000 compliant.”—Michael Powell, Federal Communications
Commissioner.
“AT&T, for one, says it will have fixed and tested most of its
heavy computerized network by the end of this year, and will spend
next year making sure its systems work with upgraded gear at other
phone companies.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
The U.S. Air Transport Industry is also in danger of going
down.
Without air transport, much of U.S. business would quickly
come to a halt. Aside from personal and business air travel, there
is are the mail deliveries of the USPS, UPS, Fed Ex, DHL.
Part of the problem here is the remarkable lack of preparedness by the Federal Aviation Administration. It runs the nation’s
air traffic control systems. As of April 8, 1998, independent auditors estimated that only 29 out of 430 FAA computer systems are
Y2K-compliant. That is less than 7% of the total!
Tens of thousands of flights occur every day, and it would all
stop if the FAA dropped through the floor. Stanley Graham, a consultant at Tech-Beamers, Inc. testified before Contgressional hearings, and said that the FAA Y2K repair work will not be completed
until the middle of the year 2009. The National Civil Aviation Review Commission says the planes could stop moving, and the resultant damage would severely damage the U.S. economy.
When the General Accounting Office released a highly-critical
report of FAA preparedness, Rep. Bart Gordon (R-TN) commented
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How to Prepare for Y2K
on the report that the nation could be devastated as a result.
—Yet you may notice that you are reading little about this in
the nation’s press. Ho-hum, everything is doing well; the economy
is good, and stocks are up. Who cares about a massive federal
debt, an immense nationwide increase of personal debt, and a
wild craze for entertainment, gambling, abortion, and theatrical
entertainment.
Large jet airliners, both in America and overseas, have hundreds of computers and thousands of embedded chips on board.
Some of the most complicated of these systems have been introduced into the past 15 years. Much much of that computerized
equipment relies on non-compliant programs and chips.
The Boeing Company has announced that its earliest jets, and
most recent ones are safe, but the ones in between (of which there
are the most) needed some attention. A similar situation probably
exists with Air Bus in Europe.
According to an April 19, 1998 report by Associated Press, the
newest airport in the world, the Denver International Airport which
opened in February 1995, is not compliant in 100 of its systems.
Incuded here are flight and baggage, communc9iations, underground trains, etc.
If Denver International—with the very newest equipment—is
not ready, what about thousands of older airports?
“There are the thousands of far-flung clinics, labs, and pharmacies that need to check their equipment. ‘I do believe there are
going to be some unnecessary deaths,’ says Ackerman. But even
here the anxiety may outstrip reality. Tests suggest that only a small
percentage of medical devices could be impacted by the date
change, and fewer still will directly affect patient care.”—Time,
June 15, 1998.
Here is the latest report from Newsweek, which obtained this
data from the Gartner Group:
“The U.S. health-care industry lags far behind other
organizations in terms of its preparations for the Millennium
Bug.
“16% of all companies surveyed have not yet started any
preparations for the year 2000.
“37% of health-care organizations surveyed have not yet
started preparing for the Millennium Problem.
“83% of U.S. health-care organizations are not for profit, and
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therefore have limited Y2K resources.
“2-3% of their net operating budgets goes to information
technology, half the average company share.”—Newsweek, June
29, 1998.
Some say that there really ought to be no date-sensitive
computer chips in pacemakers, defibrillators, or elevators.
Unfortunately, manufacturers often installed standard chips to
equipment which included dating factors, even though no dating
was needed.
SMALLER U.S. BUSINESSES
Most business and employment in America is located in the
samll business sector. Many experts are predicting that at least
half of America’s small to medium sized companies will not be
Y2K compliant by the turn of the century. (Fortunately, as of January 15, 1999, the one which publishes this book is compliant.)
Wells Fargo BAnk conducted a sampling survey, and estimates
that nearly 5 million small U.S. businesses will encounter end of
the century problems which will disrupt their work. Three-fourths
of the businesses surveyed said they had done nothing to prepare
for what was coming. Fifty percent said they had no intention of
doing anything, and would wait to see what happened when 2000
arrived!
A Gallup poll, taken in April 1998 for the National Federation
for Independent Bussinesses, found that 82% of those firms surveyed were going to encounter computer problems, and 34% were
expected to have microchip breakdowns.
Then there is the study by the Gartner Group. It found that
84% of companies with fewer than 100 employees have done essentially nothing to prepare for Y2K. About a third of those
comapnies rely heavily enough on computers that they will have
problems at the turn of the new century.
Much of our ecoonomy is based on small business activity,
which is generally ignorant of Y2K problems, and does not have
the money to fix them.
The NFIB Research Foundation predicts that 330,000 small
businesses will close their doors permanently, and another 370,000
will be temporarily crippled when January 2000 arrives. That alone
could drag the nation into a crippling depression.
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How to Prepare for Y2K
FEAR OF LAWSUITS
Ironically, the fear of lawsuits is holding many businesses back
from properly preparing for the inevitable crash. Outside computing consultant firms are begining to refuse to take remediation
assignments with businesses because, if there is later failure, they
too may be sued by the rapacious lawyers and their clients. Many
of these consulting firms (including International Business Machines and Educational Development Services) will accept no new
clients because of the danger of lawsuits.
It is expected that over $30 trillion in liability lawsuits will begin after the turn of the century. In the spring of 1999, Congress is
trying to enact legislation limiting Y2K liability, fearing that such
suits will devastate America’s businesses and, with their collected
hoards of fees, the nation’s lawyers will retire. But the legal associations of the nation are hard at work fighting the legislation, so it
may not pass. Everything will depend on which lobbyists offer the
biggest wads of bribery cash to the senators and representatives.
“The consulting arms of several big accounting firms, fearing
lawsuits, are refusing to fix year 2000 computer problems or
offering to do so only for certain clients. Many computer consultants initially jumped at the chance to rewrite old computer code
or convert computer systems to use new code that acknowledges
the year 2000. But an increasing number are shunning the work
because ‘they’re afraid of being sued,’ says Larry Martin, president of Data Dimensions, Inc., a computer consulting companay
in Bellevue, Washington. Just listen to Carl Sellberg, top technology partner at Coopers & Lybrand. ‘We don’t do year 2000
work other than to warn existing clients that they may have a
problem,’ he said, adding: ‘There’s a great deal of risk of litigation. ‘Deloitte & Touche’s top consulting partner Pat Loconto
says his firm isn’t soliciting new clients for year 2000 work other
than because the firm doesn’t want to be view as a deep pocket
in potential lawsuits. The legal departments in many companies
are now telling employees not to reveal any information on their
Y2K remediation status to customers or the public for fear of
lawsuits. So, if everyone clams up about their y2K progress, and
consultants back away from fixing business coputers for fear of
lawsuits, we will be flying blind, and the whole repair process in
corporate America is probably going to slow down dramatically.
Wouldn’t it be ironic if America, the most litigious, lawsuit happy
country in the world (in which lawsuits have become a form of
legalized plunder or theft), didn’t get its business and banking
91
computers compliant because of everyone’s fear of lawsuits? When
the post-mortem is done on the U.S. economy, after it has melted
doen as a result of Y2K, one of the important factors as to why
we didn’t get it fixed may well be because of fear of lawsuits. The
government should pass a moratorium on Y2K-related lawsuits
but the lawyers’ lobby is too strong, and that probably won’t
happen.”—Consultants Shunning Work on Year 2000,” in Wall
Street Journal, June 29, 1998.
FAILING THE TEST
Repeatedly, in test after test, utility and manufacturing plants
have failed crucial advance tests of Y2K-compliance of their equipment.
Item: One large firm decided to test its elevators, after it decided they were all compliant. The problem was those embedded
chips. Some elevators were made with one type of chip, and others
with another. When the test was made, some elevators went to the
top and refused to move again. Others worked fine. While still
others proceeded to the bottom, and then went dead. Getting the
shut-down elevatators to start again was a difficult task.
Item: At one nuclear power plant, a facility was tested off-line,
and an embedded chip controlling the cooling system failed. If this
had happened after the end of the year, dire consequences might
have followed.
Item: The public water system at Coff’s Harbor in Australia
was tested for Y2K compliance, and failed. It was determined that,
if this had happened in real life, so many toxic chemicals would
have been dumped into the water supply—to kill the entire population. So if you drink city water, keep this in mind come next
January.
Item: Since both were off-line and being used as hot-spares,
two coal-fired power plants were tested for Y2K compliance. When
they were, the plants immediately shut down. The problem was an
embedded controller chip.
So that was fixed, and the two plants were tested again. Immediately everything shut down again—cause by another chip.
That was replaced and a third test was made. Once again everything shut down; this time due to a problem with a third chip.
Checking into the matter, it was decided that this third failure
was of a nature able to bring down a portion of the national grid—
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How to Prepare for Y2K
if those plants had been on-line.
Item: In Fortune magazine, for April 27, 1998, Ralph
Szygendon, chief information officer at General Motors, told of a
test at one GM plant. In order to evaluate the extent of the
problem, the plant engineers advanced their computer clocks
to the year 2000. Instantly the entire plant was incapacitiattred,
as robotic devices froze in mid-air.
Item: In 1ate 1997, Chrysler Corporation shut down its Sterling Heights assembly plant, and then turned all clocks to December 31, 1999. The engineers expected a few problems, but they
were astounded at the number and variety. Chrysler chairman,
Rboert Eaton, said, “We got lots of surprises.” No one get even get
out of the doors. They were all locked in.
Item: Failure so far at every power plant:
“Every test I have seen done on an electrical power plant has
caused it to shut down. I know of no plant or facility investigated
to this date that has passed without Y2K problems.”—David
Hall, an embedded systems consultant at Cara Corporation,
on the Netly News, May 13, 1998.
Item: During Y2K testing, Shell Oil has found a 20% failure
rate on their vessels and offshore rigs. Chevron also reported a
high rate of test failures and has instituted a new policy that in any
ship in transit at the turn of the century, will remain out in ocean
and will have a minumum of 30-days provisions on board.
A large drilling copmany recently ran a test on one of its large
ocan drilling rigs. All they did was set the clocks to 2000. Immediately the rig shut down, and they can’t get it started again!
Item: In 1993, the North American Air Defense Command
(Norad) in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, conducted a test to see
what would happen to all their computers, especially the ones
that warn of a nuclear attack against America. As with nearly all
coputers, years were designated only by their last two digits. A few
entgineers had been speculating: What would happen when 2000
came along? This is what happened: At the tick of “midnight on
December 31, 1999,” everything froze the screens that monitored
the early-warning satellites and radars and other communciations
systems that would detect a flock of missiles or bombers coming
our way. “It all locked up at the stroke of midnight,” recalled Robert Martin, a top comupter specialist.
93
THE DOMINO EFFECT
In the Western Civilization today, the shutting down of a few
key industries or utilities can shut down all the rest. One example
should suffice to explain the problem.
In March 1996, two brake plants in Dayton, Ohio went on strike
against General Motors for 17 days. GM’s just-in-time inventory
and delivery procedures rather quickly shut down 26 of the 29
GM assembly plants. Immediately, 18 other parts manufacturing
plants shut down to prevent inventory buildup. By this time,
177,000 employees had been furloughed. All aside from this, slowdowns and stoppages occurred in more than 100,000 companies
which are third-party venders to GM. They provide various small
parts for the vehicles. In those 17 days, GM lost over $900 million
directly. Indirectly, it and its suppliers lost twice that amount.
The interconnection of the utilities with one another, and the
way, when they shut down, everything else shuts down—is remarkably similar to what happened to General Motors in March 1996.
The total shut down can (and probably will) start with the
utilities. Yet, as far as big busines is concerned, it could begin with
the many small suppliers who provide them with parts and supplies. Virtually all large comapnies rely on hundreds, if not thousands, of external hardware and software vendors, utilities, banks,
transportation and other service providers. A date-conversion
problem in a few places can cause grief to the whole system.
When General Motors sent out questionnaires to its suppliers
as to their Y2K preparedness activities, only 26% even wrote back!
So GM trained about 200 men to go out see what was going on.
They discovered that most of their suppliers were unprepared and
not preparing. They do not have a plan, and do not wish to talk
about. Cost overhead is high, they are just getting by, and do not
wish to deal with such a big headache. They would rather forget it,
and wait and see what happens.
So there will be lots of days off for the workers of America,
come January 2000.
If you want to add to the above domino effect, the power company serving the Detroit area and its auto companies, Detroit
Edson, is far from being Y2K compliant. Several authorities in the
field have predicted it will not make the 2000 deadline.
Here are more falling dominos: Experts declare that the string
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How to Prepare for Y2K
of labor union strikes against auto companies in recent years has
so weakened the financial status of the parts suppliers, that they
do not have the money to fix their Y2K problems.
What will happen when the auto industry—the largest industry in America—lays off its millions of workers? More domino effect, Still more people and businesses will go under.
Here is two other examples of how easily the dominos can fall:
On April 14, 1998, American Telephone and Telegraph had a
phone hub fail becuase of a software problem. This cascaded
through their systems, and quickkly brought down 43 other hubs,
ccutting off service to immense numbers of telephone customers.
Banking transfers, manufacturing orders, e-mail services, and
many other forms of information transfer systems wer affected.
AT&T CEO Michael Armstrong said that the software problem
started in two of their frame relay switches and spread to 145
nodes across the frame relay network. The outage lasted 20 hours.
AT&T has about 40% of the 6,000 network customers in America.
This crisis happened for only one day. What would have happened if hundreds or thousands of embedded chips went down,
and phone service stopped for a very extended period of time?
What would happen in America, in Canada, in Europe, in Western Civilization? Add to this falling dominos of electricity, trucking, trains.
In May 1998, just one communications satelitte went dead.
Just one.
“As many as 90% of the more than 44 million pager customers nationwide lost service Tuesday when a communcations satellite [Galaxy IV] spun out of control, causeing the largest and
longest outage of its kind. The blackout, which hit at 3:18 p.m.,
affected everyone from doctos and emergency crews to the FBI
and other law enforcement agencies to child care providers . .
For many, the incident reveals the nation’s dependence on hightech communications and its vulnerabilities . . CBS radio and
television, the Chinese Television Network, and the CNN Airport
Network send feeds thorugh Galaxy IV. CBS relies most heavily
on Galaxy IV.”—Los Angeles Times, May 20, 1998.
What would happen if telephones and other transmissions,
along with electricity and transportation, went out for a month or
so? Some predict that it would bring on the greatest depression in
the history of the nation.
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— U.S. FINANCE —
The experts advise that the banks and insurance companies
are perhaps in the best position for being ready for Y2K, with the
telephone and telecommunications industry lesser so.
THE BANKING SYSTEM
“Many in the numbers-laden banking and securities industries
have been pouring money and manpower into the Y2K problem
for two or three years. Their megamergers notwithstanding, Citibank
and NationsBank each say they will be done with their internal fixes
this year, and are scheduling tests to make sure money can flow
through the Federal Reserve. The Securities Industry Association,
meanwhile, has scheduled a Year 2000 ‘dress rehearsal’ next month
for its members, who handle about 90% of the trading volume in
the U.S., with a full-blown readiness test scheduled for March
1999.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
From the best we can learn, the majority of smaller banks are
Y2K-compliant. But the banking system is large and interconnected
in a variety of ways. For this reason, it is not as safe as some may
imagine.
The banking system includes banks, credit unions, thrifts, and
savings & loans. There are several ways they can be affected by Y2K
problems:
First, they rely heavily on computers. These have to be compatible, but the banks generally have the money to make sure they
have the best equipment.
Second, there are bank customers, suppliers, and regulators.
This can prove to be more difficult.
Third, there are the electrical utilities and telecommunications,
including telephone. This could well prove to be much more of a
hazard.
Fourth, there is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC)< National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and Office
of Thrift Supervision (OTS). Government agencies are notorious
for their lack of Y2K preparation.
Fifth, is the very worst of all! The public is reading all the ominous Y2K reports in the media, and there is a strong likelihood
that a run on the banks will occur in late 1999. This could pro-
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How to Prepare for Y2K
duce a crisis of major proportions in America! Yet any thinking
person is likely to want to take a sizeable portion of his money out
of the bank, in view of what is coming. Who dares to lose contact
with all his funds, other than those in his home, for three to six
months?
As of spring 1999, it appears that about 1,400 banking
insituttions will be shut down by government agencies in June.
This will be 10% of the regulated banks, credit unions and thrifts.
The FDIC is closely checking on the banks, and according to
schedule, in June 1999, will begin shutting down “Y2K troubled”
banks, and transferring their assets to other banks. The NCUA
and OTS is working on a similar schedule.
Obviously, when the general public reads that 10% of the banks
have closed down, will not that prompt many to more seriously
consider withdrawing their money—while they still have time?
It is true that the bank closures will actually have strengthened
the banking system, but the man on the street may not see it that
way.
Indeed, the federal government is expecting a run on the banks.
The Federal Reserve has ordered the Treasury Department to begin printing $50 billion in extra paper money. But that amount
figures out to a rather pathetic little amount, in comparison with
the number of people in the nation.
The Federal Reserve says has another $150 billion stored up.
This would total $244 billion—which is about 7% of bank deposits in America, which total $3.6 trillion. That averages out to about
$2,440 per U.S. household.
If the banks fail to provide enough money to match the demand for withdrawals, a bank holiday will be declared (as was
done in March 1933), and the nation will be in real trouble. When
currency withdrawals are frozen, people really panic.
“This [Federal Reserve cash increase] is the fist time the Fed
has ever planned for a nationwide demand for extra cash . . The
Federal REserve plans to boost currency inventories by a third
next year in case U.S. consumers want to have more cahs on
hand when January 1, 2000 arrives, a Fed official said Wednesday . . As a backup to the $460 billion in circulation, the Fed
will add $50 billion to the $150 billion in cash reserves next
year . . The Fed estimates that the U.S.’s 70 million houeholds
on average might withdrw $450 to pay for necessities, such as
food and gas, as Y2K problems are fixed.”—USA Today, August
97
20, 1998.
Keep in mind that there are over $1 trillion in global foreign
exchange tarnsactions each day, and 80% of that activity is keyed
to U.S. dollars. Obviously, the entire system is in danger of collapse—not only because of the global financial networks, but because the Y2K problem exists everywhere in the civilized world.
With such fears in mind, the banking industry is feverishly at
work—trying to solve its Year 2000 problems. Chase Manhatten is
spending $363 million; BankAmerica - $550 million; Citigroup 850-925 million; J.P. Morgan - $300 million; Wells Fargo - $200
million; First Union Corporation - $60-65 million; Bank One $350 million; Bankers Trust - $220-260 million (courtesy of American Banker, December 18, 1998).
When 1999 draws to a close, do not send money by wire! This
is an absolute. The money is likely to just disappear, with no record
or way to retrieve it. Swiss banks have already announced that
they will probably not handle any bank wires at the end of December and first part of January.
The danger of bank collapse is so real, that some experts advise to get your money out before May 1999. Cash retrieval problems coud accelerate in the second quarter of 1999 and intensify
in the the third quarter.
Alan Greenspan speaks:
“Washington—Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says
it’’s not a good idea for people to be carrying around a big wad of
cahs New year’s Eve 2000. The most sensible thing is to leave it
where it is [in the bank].’ he told the Senate Banking Committee
on Tuesday. Greenspan said Americans’ money will be safe in
financial institutions.
“ ‘There’s almost no conceivable way . . that computers will
break down and records of people’s savings accounts would disappear,’ he said. ‘There’s, fortunately, so many checks and balances that if it’s knocked out one place, it’s available in 20 others.”—Greenspan: Don’t Worry about 2000,” Associated Press,
February 24, 1999.
— U.S. GOVERNMENT —
GOVERNMENTS—The U.S. Government is far behind indus-
How to Prepare for Y2K
98
try in tackling the Y2K problem. It is generally conceded that government on all levels will not be fully prepared when the millennium changes. A number of federal agencies will be especially unprepared (see Report Card, below).
Here is a recent report from one government agency which is
trying hard, yet recognizes that it has a lot more to go: The U.S.
Postal Service hints that there may be trouble ahead:
“The Year 2000 challenge extends across the entire information technology industry and includes any system, equipment or
product that uses date data . . The Postal Service has thousands
of components ranging from information systems to mail processing equipment, from forms to elevators and security systems, that may not function properly when the century date
changes. Anything that manipulates or takes action based on a
date has the potential for failure or, possibly worse, inaccurate
operation.
“For the Postal Service, the Year 2000 problem affects application programs, data, operating systems, computer hardware
and a wide variety of equipment (e.g., mail processing equipment, heating and air-conditioning controllers, and telephones)
. . For more information, go online to www.usps.gov/year2000>”—
Memo to Mailers, USPS, August 1998.
Notice that USPS does not say it is going to solve its problem
in time.
The Internal Revenue Service has been trying to replace its
non-Y2K system for 11 years. So far, it has spent $4 billion—but
with no success. The system contains over 100 million lines of
code.
We are told that the nation’s banks will be okay when 2000
rolls around. But what about the bank that controls them? U.S.
senators have the authority to get things done; yet when Sen
D’Amato (R-NY), acting in official capacity, asked the head of the
Federal Reserve whether it would be ready for the turn of the
century,—he was told “no comment.” The organization responsible for stability in our nation thinks it is none of anyone’s
business whether the Fed will exist in a year and a half! This is
the banks’ bank. You cannot get your money if they cannot get
theirs.
U.S. FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Rick Mayburry said this:
99
“Human orgniations can be dividded into two types, smart
and stupid. Private organizations tend to be smart, for they have
a built-in mechanism buiding them to do a good job. This mechanism is customer choice. If the customers do not like the quality
or the price of a baker’s bred, they can refuse to buy. The producers must do a better job or they go broke.
“A stupid organization is one which has no such guiding mechanism . . Even if a government were staffed entlirey by geniuses, it
would still lack the guidance system of supply, demand, and
price. It would be an all-star football team running plays written
by a chimpanzee. “—Rick Maybury, Early Warning Report, October 1996.
It is hard for governments to get motivated to solve problems. Instead, its concern is to maintain and increase political
power and control.
There is not a large number of people clamoring for Y2K
solutions, so government yawns and, like the Mississippi River,
just keeps rolling along.
When we consider the government, we run into problems,
serious problems. And they will affect you. Not only our
government, but governments all over the world are not
prepared for the coming crisis.
The Financial Times, for January 13, 1998, reported that 60
leading business executives had just drafted a statement
which was delivered to President Bill Clinton and the prime
ministers of Britain and Canada—pleading with them to
solve the problem!
“We fear that governments lag in assessing and addressing the
problem,” the statement said. It warned that disruptions could extend to “delays in welfare payments, the triggering of financial
chaos by a breakdown in revenue collection and debt management, and malfunctions in the air traffic control and defense systems.”
I did not say that—60 top executives said it. And they said it
only a few months ago! A crisis is looming for the governments.
Among the 60 corporate leaders who signed the statement were
the CEOs of Lloyds TSB Banking Group, British Aerospace, BAT
Industries, Ford Motor Company, Thames Water, Bechtel Group,
Unilever, Bombardier, and Texas Instruments.
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How to Prepare for Y2K
This was the first time that a group of leading business
executives had openly sounded the Y2K alarm. They did it
out of desperation. They have far more information than we
have on the extent of the crisis in the governments of the
world.
Here is a statement from the research department of J.P. Morgan Securities, a leading U.S. investment house in New York City:
“U.S. Federal Government: Condition is critical. In our opinion, the U.S. government is at least one year behind U.S. corporations. [!] We consider the official estimate of $2.3 billion to fix the
problem to be laughable, and we believe the cost will almost certainly increase substantially as more thorough assessments are completed. The General Accounting Office has estimated $20-30 billion in total Federal costs, which may still be low, although it is
probably more accurate. In either case, progress has been slow by
continuing bureaucracy, archaic technology, and competing priorities. There are significant concerns that the government will not
be able to fully address the problem by 2000.”—J.P. Morgan Research Department, “The Year 2000 Problem.”
Here is something to think about:
“I have recently learned from multiple sources that Vice President Al Gore recognized 18 months ago that Y2K was a serious
problem. As the technology guru of the Clinton Administration,
he wanted to ‘come out of the closet’ and take on the issue.
“The Democratic National Committee and the White House,
however, told him to keep quiet because there was no discernible political gain to be derived from Y2K. Gore, loal party man
that he is, naturally obeyed—even though he knew it was not in
the national interest to do so.”—Jim Lord, “How Could They Be
So Dumb,” Year 2000 Survival Newsletter, November 1998.
Don McAlvany is well-versed in the extent of teh Y2K problem
confronting us. Here is his view of the strange silence in the Clinton
Administration on the subject:
“Political considerations are driving the government’s response
to Y2K. The federal government under Bill Clinton seems to have
one primary goal with respect to Y2K—and it is not to fix the
problem. It is to keep the public in the dark as long as possible
and prevent a panic. The great fear on the part of the Establishment is that the public will panic and stamped to acquire groceries, preparedness items, and cash.
“They are terrivied of a bank run and a run on the stock mar-
101
ket, and would rather keep the public in the dark up until the
last minute rather than chance a financial panic and collapse.
However, as the reality of the Y2K breakdowns begin to hit home,
the panic will be even worse than if the public had been properly
informed and encouraged to prepare.”—Don McAlvany, March
9, 1999 newsletter.
It was not until February 1998, that President Clinton decided
to appoint an agency to deal with the problem! He appointed John
Koskinen as Y2K Czar. Sine then, Koskinen has written letters
appealing to departments and businesses to get ready, and he has
testified before numerous committes and panals. So he is
accomplshing a lot, if talk accomplishes much.
Congress has placed $3.35 billion into an emergency fund available to federal agencies for Y2K problems. But officials agree that
time and skilled manpower is lacking to fix the problem in time.
Well, are you ready for it? Here is the report card on the
U.S. Government, as of June 1998. It is going to get a failing
grade. And all America will be the loser:
“There are two little black clocks in John Koskinen’s office inside the White House complex. They display not the time of day
but how much time is left until the Year 2000. Time is something
Koskinen desperately needs more of. He’s in charge of making sure
the U.S. government’s computers don’t crash come Jan. 1, 2000.
“Koskinen’s task is not just daunting; it’s impossible. The feds
own roughly one-quarter of all the computers in the U.S. The Pentagon alone has about 1.5 million machines—and it keeps discovering more. At last count, at least 4,500 of the government’s most
vital systems still needed to be repaired. And the studied silence
of President Clinton and Vice President Gore on the subject isn’t
making it easier to raise the alarm. ‘This is not a technical problem,’ Koskinen says. Right. It’s a people problem: getting top bureaucrats to listen to him.
“So far it hasn’t worked. Last week Representative Steve Horn,
perhaps the most Y2K-savvy Congressman, gave Uncle Sam’s software failing grades. ‘Under Koskinen,’ the California Republican
growled in a voice that could give anyone what-if nightmares. Government performance has fallen from a D minus to an F.’
“At current debugging rates, 13 of the 24 largest agencies won’t
have fixed their most crucial computers in time. Among them:
“The Federal Aviation Administration: The FAA has plans to
ground planes if its air-traffic system isn’t repaired—and it may
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How to Prepare for Y2K
have to carry them out. The government’s own accountants complained earlier this year that ‘at its present rate, the FAA will not
make it.’
“The Department of Transportation: The DOT, meanwhile,
flunked Horn’s report card for its laughably poor efforts to overhaul its 630 most critical systems, which the agency says will be
complete, oh, by sometime in 2004. Still, FAA Y2K chief Ray Long
insists that air traffic is a top priority, and ‘there’s no doubt in my
mind that we’re going to meet our [Year 2000] deadlines.’
“Internal Revenue Service: The good news is that the IRS may
not be able to process your tax returns. The bad news is that it
won’t be handing out refunds either. Since last fall, says newly installed Commissioner Charles Rossotti, the agency has upped estimates of its Y2K costs repeatedly, from $250 million to $850 million to more than $1 billion. It fell behind its own deadline of
having 66 of its 127 most vital systems fixed by January 1998,
and still hasn’t finished deciding which minicomputers, file servers, and PCs need debugging.
“Financial Management Service: Even if the IRS gets fixed,
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and veteran benefit checks come
from the Treasury Department’s Financial Management Service, a
little-known agency through which almost all the government’s
payments and collections flow. It’s in poor shape. As of March,
FMS hadn’t finished even the preliminary step of deciding which
systems needed to be repaired.
Social Security Administration: This is one of teh most Y2Kcompliant agencies in the federal government. But, unfortunately,
although it keeps track of its records, the Social Security Administration does not write the checks. They are sent out by the Department of the Treasury, which will not be prepared until the
year 2004.
“What nobody, not even Koskinen, knows is how bad the crash
will be. So why doesn’t he press the panic button during speeches
and interviews? ‘Would we do better if I stood up tomorrow and
said this is a national crisis?’ He asks in reply. Probably not. But it
might get the bureaucrats’ attention.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
The IRS alone has 100 million lines of code in 50,000 applications to correct! It has assigned 300 programmers to do the
job. That is more than 333,000 lines of code per programmer.
The IRS is just beginning to train some personnel in how to
assess the extent of the problem. Yet assessment is less than 5%
of the total repair problem. Not long ago, it installed a $4 billion
upgrade to its computer system, of which Y2K was supposed to
103
be a big part. But the entire upgrade failed and had to be
scraped! With new tax laws going into effect which require major
reprogramming, there is little time to deal with the Y2K bug—
especially since IRS programmers are quitting, so they can work
elsewhere at much higher wages. Expect serious problems to
develop in the IRS.
“They [the federal government] have earned an ‘F’ because
their progress is slowing down rather than speeding up.”—Rep.
Steven Horn (R-CA), chairman of the House Technology Committee, June 2, 1998.
At about the same time, Rep. Constance Morella (R-MD), chairwoman of a committee investigating the Y2K problem, told a special hearing that the Y2K problem is an impending catastrophe.
Horn added that, while slow work was being done on a ferw thousand mission-critical systms, another 60,000 governmetn computer systems will eventualy have to be fixed, along with uncounted
millions of embedded computer chips.
Here are several statements worth considering:
“Congressional committees were told recently that only about
35% of the more critically important federal government systems have been fixed. The committes were also told by the General Accounting Office that it is unlikely that even the remaining
5,000 ‘missions-critical’ systems can be corrected in time. And,
of course, with the interdependence of so many programs and
systems , those 5,000 essential systems that are priority fixes
may be multiplied exponentially. There are about 60,000 ‘nonmission-critical’ systems that also need saving. Defense is not
expected to be finised with the needed repairs on its existing
‘mission-critical systems until 2009. Former defense secretary
Caspar Weinberger and chairman of Forbes’s magazine, Forbes,
4/20/98 : ‘The Federal Government faces an ugly situation if it
does not step up efforts to correct the Year 2000 programming
error in its agencies’ computers . . Each agency should have a
plan in place to deal with the problem. In 1999, all critical systems should be tested. If this is not done, the government has no
chance of meaningful compliance’ ”—Andrew Grove, CEO of
Intel, quoted in Washington Post, April 24, 1998.
“Nobody seems willing or able to say it in simple language, so
let me be the one: the federal government is not going to finish
its Y2000 project. No maybes, no ifs, ands, or buts. No qualifiers, no wishy-washy statements like ‘unless more money is spent’
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How to Prepare for Y2K
or ‘unless things improve.’ We’re not going to avert the problem
by appointing a Y2000 Czar or creating a National 2000
Commission.Let me say again, in plain English: The United States
federal government will not finish its Y2000 project. ‘How Washington expects to continue functioning after 1/1/2000 is a mustery
to me. How American socienty expects to continue operating in a
‘business as usual’ fashion, when half of the federal government
agencies stop functioning, is a deeper mystery and one for which
we must all begin planning. All of this is so mind-boggling that it
falls into the category of ‘thinking about the unthinkable’ . .
Realistically, we can no longer talk about what might happen IF
Washington fails to fix its Y2000 problems. Realistically, we have
to start talking about what will happen when the Year 2000 problem brings the government to its knees.”—Ed Yourdon, Timebomb
2000.
“The federal government faces a signifcant risk of critical of
critical computer breakdowns because some Cabinet departments are having trouble speeding up the pace of their repair
work on the year 2000 glitch, according to internal documents
obtained Tuesday. Between Feb. 15 and May 15, the government
finished fixing only 5% of its ‘mission critical’ systems, according to recent department reports submitted to the Office of Management and Budget and obtained by the Washington Post. As of
May 15, more than 60% of the critical computer systems still
had not been fully repaired. The government’s pace of repair
work has alarmed many computer industry analysts and has
comeunder attack by Republicans on Capitol Hill, such as Rep.
Stephen Horn (R-Long Beach), the chairman of a House subcommittee that has been examining the Clinton administration
year 2000 efforts. Horn asserted Tuesday that the current rate of
repairs means that more than 40% of the critical systems will
not be fixed by the March 1999 deadline set by the White House.
‘We need to prioritize and recognize this as a major emergeny,’
said horn, who cited the ‘disturbing slowdown of the government’s
rate of progress’ in issuing a report card Tuesday that flunked
the administration on its date-conversion work.”—Washington
Post, June 3, 1998.
“Speaking on the condition that his name not be used, one of
the top five federal agencies would be ready by the deadline of
one second past midnight Dec. 31, 1999. At the present rate,
this expert said the Department of Energy will have completed
the fix in 2019 and the Defense Department in 2012.”—Arnaud
de Borchgrave, Washingoton Times, April 3, 1998.
The following government agencies are far behind in their Y2K
105
preparations. All of them received an “F” from Rep. Horn’s committee:
The Department of Transportation.
The Department of State.
The Enviironomental Protection Agency.
The Department of Energy.
The Department of Health and Human Services.
The Agency for International Development.
The Department of Defense.
Here is another list of when certain government agencies will
be Y2K compatible:
Justice Department (including FBI) - 2001.
Health and Human Services (including Medicare and Medicaid) - 2001.
Treasury Department (including IRS) - 2004.
Agriculture Department (including food stamps and farm
subsidies) - 2005.
JDepartment of Tarnsportation - (including the FAA and air
traffic control system) - 2010.
Department of Defense (including the Army, Navy, etc.) - 2012.
State Department (which issues passports) - 2019.
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
This problem is so serious that it requires special attention:
“What does it mean to have one-third of our mission critical
defense systems working in 2000?”—Jim Lord, Year 2000 Survival Newsletter, March 31, 1998.
Let me begin by telling you a story:
“A preview of possible military disasters was the incident in
the 1991 Gulf War, when a Scud missile blew up a barracks in
Saudi Arabia, killing 28 National Guard troops inside. A postmortem ........................
======= 5 / 7 as marked
................................another says it is 2000, they can’t talk to
each other.”—Boston Globe, June 21, 1998.
That bears repeating: “Systems genearlly require time-synchronization in order to talk to each other . . So, if one computer says
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How to Prepare for Y2K
it is 1900 and another says it is 20000, they can’t talk to each
other.” This helps clarify the problem soon to hit our military.
When Ed Yardeni and John Koskinen were interviewed by CNN
on Y2K on September 18, 1998, they both agreed that the number
one Y2K problem which America faces is its non-compliant
Department of Defense, which by the turn of the century will
only have about one-third of its mission critical systems Y2K
compliant.
Yet the Department of Defense did not even become aware of
the Y2K problem until 1995!
With the world’s largest payroll and an arsenal of air, land,
and sea weapons dependent on computers, the Pentagon (which
will sepnd over $10 billion on Y2K remediation efforts in the final
18 months before the century ends) is hopelessly behind. Rep.
Horn’s committee estimates that the DOD will not be ready until
2012.
In the third quarter of 1997, the DOD reported that it had
25,054 affected systems and only 3,143 mission critical. Sounds
pretty good. A lot of checking must have gone into such exact numbers. Then, on June 12, 1998, Rep. Steven Horn’s Y2K Committee
disclosed that the DOD had falsified those numbers, and the number of actual repairs which had been made.
The same month, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
issued a report for the quarter ending May 15, 1998. The report
revealed that the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Interior have all slowed in their efforts to fix their Y2K problems in
the last three months. The detailed report outlined progress at 24
federal agencies.
Here is another comment on the situation:
“During Bill Curtis’ 27-year career as a military computer programmer, he wrote more than a few lines of code that were century-insensitive. ‘I made decisions that we could use two digits
for the date,’ he confesses. Now, as the head of the Department
of Defense’s Y2K office, Curtis is in charge of fixing his own—and
everyone else’s—software problems. It’s a job nobody else wanted.
Although the Pentagon began Y2K planning in 1995, repairs of
the most vital computer systems were only 9% complete this
spring. The F-15 and the Navy’s Tomahawk missile are two of
34 as yet undebugged weapons systems cited in a report scheduled to be released this week. When pressed, Curtis admits
that even the military’s most ‘mission critical’ systems—per-
107
haps 2,800 in all—won’t be ready in time. Officials insist that
America’s nuclear arsenal is more or less fail-safe, which means
that if the computer systems go haywire, the missiles won’t
launch. Whether the same is true of Russia’s nukes is an open
question.”—Time, June 15, 1998.
“The Defense Department recently received a letter grade of F
and is projectd to have only one-third of its essential computing
systms working properly by the Year 2000. This is nothing less
than scandalous . .
“Each Tomahawk missile has embedded computers that use
identical software. If this software has a Year 2000 defect, the
softeware engineers must correct the problem only once and then
replace the bad softesre in each missile. fi this step is not taken,
of course, the military would lose the capability to perform the
speicfiied mission becuase thosnads of missiles woud be rendered useless by the malfunctioning software. When it is reported
that Y2K repairs to a mission ciritical system wil not be completed by the deadsline, it means tahta ll individalu copies of
that system will beocme defective and the fundamental mission
capability will be lsost or impaired. In th cawes of JTomahawk,
thousands of individual missiles would become inopeative and
the ilitay would no longer be able to destroy land-based targest
with missiles form 1,000 miles away. The Horn Report Card
projes stha nearly 3,000 mission critical systems thoughthe
governmetn wil not be ready for the Yea 2000. Nearly 1,800 of
these are military systems. This is, of lcourse, a catastropohic
loss of military capability that would likely render the American
military a helpless giant.”—Jim Lord, Year 2000 Survival Newsletter, March 31, 1998.
In April 1998, the General Accounting Office (GAO) issued an
ominous report on the Department of Defense.
“Authorities are investigating whether the nation’s strategic defense computers could malfunction because of the millennium bug.
Some military computers are almost certain to fail after the clock
strikes midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, said John Stephenson, who
heads the study by the General Accounting Office, the investigative
arm of Congress. In an April 30th report to Congress, the GAO
warned that time is running out to protect the military’s 1.5 million computers. What you hope is that (defense officials) will start
to apply triage, Stephenson told the Rocky Mountain News. They
should decide what their most important missions are and which
systems support those missions and fix those first. A top GAO
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How to Prepare for Y2K
priority is the North American Aerospace Defense Command in
Colorado Springs, a facility that monitors Amaerica’s nuclear defenses. The installation at Cheyenne Mountain is the linchpin of
stategic forces. Its computer-powered equipment can detect incoming enemy missiles. The GAO also may review the satellite relay
stations at Buckley Air national Guard Base in Aurora. Those
facilities track missile firings and nuclear explosions. We are looking at NORAD in terms of the intergrated tactical attack assessment system, said Yvonne Vigil, an evaluator in the Denver region
GAO office. Describing the complicated NORAD facility as the system of all systems, Bigil said NORAD’s computers must be bugfree because their mission is to protect and safeguard the United
States. Perhaps the most critical area is the military, in which many
old systems called legacy systems still play major roles. The software coding is so archaic that finding the sections calculating dates
is difficult. A congressional committee estimated in 1996 that the
Department of Defense’s Glogal Command Control System failed
when the clock was pushed ahead to the year 2000. Deployed at
700 military installations worldwide, the system is the key tool in
battle management and planning. Other vulnerable systems include
the Global Positioning System used for determining a military unit’s
exact location and for the precision targeting of smartweapons.
Most (if not all of America’s missiles are guided to their targets
using the GPS system. Other military communications systems
could be compromised. Even on-board computers in jet fighters
will be tested, the GAO report said. The report slammed the Department of Defense’s handling of the millenium bug. problem.
The Pentagon did not have a complete inventory of its computers,
was wasting too much time trying to fix noncritical systems and
had inadequate contingency plans if important systems crash, the
report said. They’ve designated 2,900 mission-critical systems and
25,000 nonmission-critical systems, Stephenson told the News.
But if you look at the statistics, (the systems) are being repaired at
about the same rate. So what’s the point of designating ‘mission
critical’ if it doesn’t mean you focus your resources and priority
on those. The more they get into assessment of this, they’re finding it’s more insidious than first thought, the GAO’s Stephenson
said. The GAO reports over the past two years on the military’s
2000 problem have steadily increased in their alarm. In the April
report, the GAO warned bluntly that failing to quickly fix the prob-
109
lem would mean computer failures that are widespread, costly
and potentially disruptive to military operations worldwide. All
the federal reports that we do will ratchet up without trying to
crate panic, Stephenson said. We’re becoming increaingly concerned. Some of the big sector institutions like banks are ahead of
the federal government. The Department of Defense is peculiarly
vulnerable to this problem because it has such a grotesque set of
legacy (older) systems, Stephenson said. It has an awful lot of
systems that have been around for an awfully long time. Though
computer systems at NORAD’s Cheyenne Mountain installation
are being upgraded, some military machines still calculate dates in
archaic computer languages that are no longer in use. Many
porgrammers who wrote the code have retired or adaped to more
modern computer languages. Reviewing tens of millions of lines
of military code to find the exact coding for dates and time is intensely time consuming. It is a great steaming heap of spaghetti
code which means that it works byt nobody knows why anymore,
Pike said. And nobody wants to look too closely for fear that they
might break it. When they go in there to start looking at the code, it
urns out that half the code doesn’t even execute any more.”—Rocky
Mountain News, May 10, 1998.
It is obvious that a very real danger exists. The enemies of
America are many, and very soon our military has going to have an
opportunity to attack us during a time when there is a major blind
spot in our defenses.
“U.S. Navy operations worldwide could be severely disrupted
by ........................
===== 5 / 6 as marked
.................................. destroyer deckplates as well as shore
infrastructure.”—Orange County Register, September 1, 1998.
COMPUTER THEFTS AND CYBERATTACKS
While on the subject of our military defense and the Y2K situation, there is a closely related problem which should be briefly
considered:
First, during the time that the Y2K bugs are being fixed, the
computers are open, and foreign agents could enter them:
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How to Prepare for Y2K
“CIA diretor George Tenet warned that the Year 2000 problem
could help .......................
========= 5 / 8 as marked
......................................... is the biggest target and defense
against cyberattack is still in its infancy.”—Year 2000 Bug Poses
Security Risk,” USA Today, June 25, 1998.
“Over the last three weeks, a new group .....................
======= 5 / 8 as marked
.......................................... downplayed the significance of teh
break-ins.”—Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1998.
Second, we mentioned earlier that there are not enough programmers to rectify our Y2K computer problems. In order to alleviate this problem, our government is hiring many foreigners to fix
our computers. We have changed our immigration laws to allow
90,000 computer programmers to immigrate to this country in
1998. There is serious concern that foreign spies could enter and
copy information while they are working on Y2K programming.
THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM
This is a complicated subject, but I will try to simplify it.
Military ships, aircraft, and ballistic missiles have guidance
systems to help them locate where they are and where they should
go. For at least 30 years, the U.S. used gravitational maps for this
purpose. These are minor fluctuations in earth’s gravitational field,
found throughout the world. Both America and Russia used such
maps for military guidance earlier, and Russia still does.
Very soon, for the first time since shortly after World War II,
the U.S. will not longer be able to respond in teh envent of a Russian nuclear attack. Here is why:
We now use the global positioning system (GPS). It uses satellites and special, very accurate clocks for this purpose. There are
24 NavStar sattellites, which receive signals from the Primary
Standrads Clocks at the Naval Observatory in Washington D.C.
They provide precise navigational signals for receivers to plot their
positions from.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Defense Communica-
111
tions Agency (now called Defense Information System AGency
[DISA]) upgraded their system from the older LORAN-C models to
GPS synchornized networks. These networks are capable of moving immense amounts of data and voice communications with great
accuracy—to any location in the world, even inside a submarine or
deep in an underground missile silo.
Without this new system, the U.S. government will find it nearly
impossible to coordinate large-scale battle plans. On August 22,
1999, the GPS satellite system’s clocks will rollback 1024 weeks,
make glboal network synchronization impossible. The effects of
this failure cannot be overestimated.
(It should also be mentioned that the GPS is used for civilian
usage, including the banking system. It is believed by banking experts that, on August 22, 1999, a worldwide depression may begin. Time will tell. The banking system requires communication
between banks and central banking institutions.)
While the world watches Y2K, the vulnerability of the GPS is
overlooked.
In April 1996, the government awarded Boeing a $1.3 billion
contract to repair the GPS—and make it able to continue on through
the next century. Boeing now says that it cannot complete its repair work on the GPS until December 1999. That is a full four
months without the GPS.
It is reported that the U.S. arsenal of guided missiles rely on
GPS to guide them. But, beginning August 22, the GPS will only
provide erroneous data.
In December, the new IMOSC (Integrated Mission Opoeratoin
Support Center) system is slated to be completed by Boeing.
The Russian system of gravitational mapping will be fully functional until 2000, when their system will no longer operate correctly (due to the Y2K problem). Even the Russians know their
nation is crumbling. Some believe that if Russia wanted to regain
its power, this four-month window of U.S. ballistic missile blindness would be its last opportunity. (Most of the NATO countries in
Europe have converted to the GPS system also, so they would also
be blinded for several months.) For four brief months the balance
of power will tilt fully in Russia’s favor.
What is the likelihood of all that happening? One could say
that we really do not know. However, we know that Russia will not
rule the world. According to the book, Great Controversy, the United
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How to Prepare for Y2K
States of America will be the leading world power at the end of
time; and no one else. God is in charge, and will care for His commandment-keeping people.
U.S. STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Here is what J.P. Morgan says about the status of U.S. state
and local governments:
“State and Local Governments: Condition is critical. Although
often overlooked by industry estimates, state and local governments
are at serious risk for Year 2000 nightmares. According to the General Office, only 25% of state and local governments will be ready by
2000. The national Association of State Information Resource Executives’ Year 2000 working group surveyed the states and found
some disturbing results:
“1. Only 30% of state chief information officers said that their
states were in the implementation or testing stage of the Year
2000 fixes and only 54% even know how many lines of code need
converting. One-quarter do not have an estimated completion date,
and 45% had not completed a cost estimate.
“2. New York has budgeted only $50 million for Year 2000 compliance, which the director of the state’s task force described as
‘nowhere near what we will need.’ A few other states have also set
aside budget dollars, mostly in the low tens of millions range.”—
Ibid.
— OVERSEAS —
FOREIGN LACK OF PREPAREDNESS
We earlier reported that governments and businesses in a majority of other nations are far behind in adapting their computers
for the turn of the century. Because of this, catastrophic conditions will occur overseas at that time. However, because the entire
world is now so closely linked together, foreign problems will
quickly affect us.
“The millennium bug isn’t just an American problem. The
United Nations wants its members to forge global alliances to
help stamp out the glitch.
113
“ ‘There truly is no time to waste,’ said Richard Sklar, a U.S.
official at the United Nations. He warns that countries that fail
to act are risking serious disruptions from malfunctioning computers.
“The United States, Britain, Canada, and some other countries have devoted millions of dollars to preparing for 2000. Experts say other countries, including Germany, Japan, and Russia, are way behind and due for a shock if computer systems
lose track of time . .
“Even if the United States fixes most of its bugs, the global
economic system could still shake because of other countries’
problems. Many world leaders are too busy with the Asian financial crisis or the new single European currency to worry about
the year 2000 problem . .
“Edward Yardeni, who himself called for a world war against
the bug, now estimates a 70 percent chance that the bug will set
off a global recession. The economist says the downturn will be
at least as bad as the 1970s oil crisis.
“ ‘If we have everything fixed in the United States but there are
major disruptions in Europe and total calamity in Asia and Latin
America, we’re going to be affected in a very, very adverse fashion,’ says Mr. Yardeni, chief economist for the international banking firm, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell . .
“Capers Jones, chairman of Software Productivity Research,
estimates the global cost of repairing software at $1.1 trillion.”—
World, July 18, 1998.
The problem is not being taken seriously in most nations of
the world. Europe is trying to some extent to wake up to the danger. Asia is almost completely unprepared. Latin America is worse.
In Russia, three oout of every five businesses have never even heard
of Y2K.
“The government is drawing up urgent plans to prevent a millennium nightmare in which the start of 2000 is marked by power
failures, flight problems and hospital diasters triggered by mass
computer malfunction.”—The Sunday Times, London, February
15, 1998.
Oil refineries all over the world are lagging badly in Y2K repairs
and most will not be compliant by the end of teh century. Rep.
Horn’s Congressional Y2K Committee found that three out of fiv
refineries in Venezuela will shut down. Those refineries are pri-
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How to Prepare for Y2K
mary sources of refined petroleum products, incliding gasoline,
for the American market.
“Oil producers, such as Venezuela, Saudi Ariabia, Mexico, Nigeria, Angola and Gabon, lag in Y2K repair efforts. Oil production remains largely in the hands of multinational corporations,
but the industry appears exposed to potential Y2K problems
becuase of its heavy reliance on embedded microprocessors in
oil drilling, pumping, precessing and refining. We are concerned
agbout the shiopping of oil products, because ocean shipping
and foreign ports have both been flagged as among the least
prepared sectors.”—Lawrence K. Gershwin of the National Intelligence Council, quoted in the Washington Post, January 21,
1999.
“I have a lot of reservations about whether any of the national
or international oil companies wil be ready for the Year 2000.
Five years ago many oil companies trimmed their staff to try to
boost profits. They lost a lot fo good legacy people tht way. And
now when they need thta expertise, they don’t have it.”—Dan
looper, Y2K maanger at Litton PRC.
In England, so great is the concern about interruption in energy supplies tht the government and businesses are encouraging
employees to get bicycles or mopeds.
On March 5, 1999, Jacquelyn Williams-Bridgers, the Insprtector
Genreal of the Department of State, testified before the Senate
Sepcial Committee on the year 2000 Technology Problem.
She stated that, with hardly an exception, developing nations
(outside Europe, America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and
Japan) are still only thinking about solving Y2K. They do not have
the money to do more.
The entire report is 12 pages long and filled with details and
examples, showing that none of the nations of the world will be
ready when 2000 arrives. Here are a few quotations:
“In one European country, the government did not recognize
the seroius nature of the Y2K problem and had yet to establish a
formal Y2K budget. In addition, governemtn officials in this country were not willing to provide detailed information on their Y2K
efforts.
“In another European country, which expects a huge influx of
tourists for millennium-related celebratoins, the governt hasd
established aY2K committee in August 1998, but did not hold
the first meitng on Y2K until January 1999.
“In yet another European country, thye Y2K issue was viewed
115
as as techinical problem by the government and was given low
priority. Public apathy was widespread and no government leaders were willing to take up the issue.
“According to embassy reports, a number of middle eastern
countries are at risk—not only becuse of possible disruptions in
the oil industry—but becaus of possible Y2K problems in their
desalinization plants. These countries recieve most of their fresh
water from desalinization plants, and would aface grave survival
problems if the plants lost power or encountered significcnt Y2K
failures in their own systems.”—Jacquelyn Williams-Bridger,
State Department Review of World Readiness, March 5, 1999.
The facts continue on and on in this report. African nations,
Asian nations, all the nations. Trouble is brewing; big trouble.
FOREIGN NUCLEAR PLANTS
More than 80 nuclear plants have gone on line since 1973, and
they account for 40% of the increase in U.S. elecrrciyt demand sind
then. More than 30 other nations rely on nuclear energy for a
poriton of their electircity supply. In 1996, the 442 nuclear power
plants operating int he world genrated one-sixth of the total electricity produced on the planet. Western Europe depends on nuclear
energy for about 42% of its electricity. Japan is at 35%. East Asia is
at 17%.
You will recall that, in an earlier section on “nuclear power,” we
discussed the fact that it requires electricity from outside a nuclear
plant—to cool its core, and six months is required for it to cool
down. Otherwise there could be an explosion.
Intelligence sources declare that some of the 65 Soviet-made
civilian nuclar power plants are likely t malfunction when their
computers go crazy in January 2000. Twenty-nine of those Soviet
reactors are in Russia, and 11 of them are similar to the Chernobyl
reactor design. As you may recall, Chernobyl released 200 times as
much radioactivity as the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Other former Soviet block countries have 36 more reactors. Many are believed to be unsafe.
There are severe shortages of computer experts in Russia to
work on the Y2K problem. If any of their reactors fail, the fallout
could affect large areas of Europe and Asia.
Keep in mind that several Soviet-made, Chernoby-type reactors are in Cuba
How to Prepare for Y2K
116
— RIOTS AND GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER —
RIOTS
/ AND /
GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER
What are the implications if the power grid goes down? This
has actually happened in several cities over the past decade, due
to local storms. However, these crises generally lasted only a few
days and then the lights came back on. Although there was some
looting and a temporary increase in crime, yet food supplies were
not interrupted. Welfare checks did not stop. The banks were back
open in a few days.
But what would happen if there would be a total shutdown in
one or two of our major cities, which lasted for a week, two weeks,
a month?
What would happen if the darkness and lack of phone service
extended to nearly every city in the nation, and all the towns and
rural areas as well?
Something to think about. Something to prepare for.
No more lights, heat, traffic lights, banks, ATMs, public transportation, subways, elevators, airports, groceries or other supplies on store shelves. No refrigeration. No running water. No way
to call the police. But lots of news stories on battery radios about
the extent of the problem, the growing wave of crime, the roving
bands, the riots, and the frenzied, confused comments of public
officials on all levels.
If the crisis lasted more than a few days in New Yrok Atlanta,
Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, martial law would be delcared—as
it was in Los Angeles in 1992.
The crisis would begin in teh dead of winter when temperatures in many parts of the country fall below zero. Winds, freezing
blasts of wind, an eirie [sp?] silence. Only a few vehicles still operating. No one able to get the gasoline out of the tanks at service
stations.
People huddled together in the dark. No heat, dwindling food,
Unpleasant sounds outside in the streets.
No, it will not happen. Yes, it will. Who knows?
It would be well to prepare now for what may come.
For, I assure you, something is coming. Something you will
never forget!
In this book, we have learned that the computer experts, po-
117
litical experts, financial experts, government experts, and corporate experts believe serious trouble is ahead. You and I are not
experts, but it would be wise for us to listen a little to what thosein-the-know are saying.
Some fear that the possible turmoil and riots could be used as
an excuse for Bill Clinton, using those dangerous Executive Orders, to take over the government,—with the possibility of eliminating the November 2000 elections.
The concept even surfaced on a recent Focus on the Family
radio broadcast. A Y2K expert was speaking to the others on the
panal, and this is what he said:
“There could be anarchy, and strong leaders always raise on
the heels of anarchy. And this, if this is as global as Yardeni
seems to emphasize, then its not just a national problem.
“But refocusing on our own national situation: we hadn’t talked
about it [earlier on this broadcast], but, as long as your opening
this Pandora’s box, there are people in jWashington who ahve
the fear that we won’t have elections in the year 2000. Becuase
the administration presently in power will not overlook the opportunity to exploit this politically. We’ve talked about Y2K technically. We’ve talked about the implications broadly, economically; but the ones which worry me the most are the opportunities for political exploitation . . [He mentions the little-known
fact that the lists of registered voter rolls are on computers, and
elections cannot occur if they cannot be accessed] . . What worries me are the Executive Orders, the powers that are available
to the chief executive are absolutely staggering to read through.
And all that’s required to invoke those is a stroke of his pen.”—
Focus on the Family radio broadcast, early spring, 1999.
DARK SIDE OF - North, p 4 under Electricity
MORAL DECAY
There is so much corruption in our nation and in our world,
on all levels, that we seem to be as much a moral cesspool as it
was in the days before the Flood.
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How to Prepare for Y2K
The only hope is to individually seek God, while there is time.
Times of great crisis are opportunities for repentance. This is opportunity before the world in the coming months.
— CONCLUSION —
FINAL APPEALS BY YARDENI
So we are faced with a crisis. Many computers will be fixed.
Many more will not. It will be interesting to see what happens
when the end of the century rolls around.
Dr. Edward Yardeni, chief economist at Deutsche Morgan
Grenfell, appeals to governments and businesses to accept
the fact that we are on the edge of a crisis—and work vigorously to solve it.
His 21-page report was written on June 10, 1998. After a
brief, pointed, list of reasons why the economic situation is
dangerous now and for the next decade, because of the Asian
financial crisis, Dr. Yardeni concludes that this problem,
compounded by the Y2K crisis, could thrust America into a
serious recession or worse.
“Let’s stop pretending that Y2K isn’t a major threat to our way
of life. There is too much at stake for such uninformed wishful
thinking. Perhaps, the time has come to act as though we are
preparing for a war. This may seem extreme and unnecessary. However, if we prepare for plausible worst-case Y2K scenarios, then perhaps we can avoid at least some of them.”—Dr. Edward Yardini,
“Year 2000 Recession?”
“The editors of the Wall Street Journal clearly showed that
they understand the gravity of Y2K by publishing my keynote
speech to the Year 2000 Roundtable at the Bank for International
Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, in their May 4, 1998, issue. In
my speech, I said that I am a Y2K alarmist. However, I am definitely
not a doomsayer.
“My goal in sounding the alarm is to increase awareness of the
enormous risks that are lurking in Y2K. Unfortunately, doomsday
scenarios are in the realm of the possible, especially if we fail to
seriously assess the risks immediately. However, it is not too late,
in my opinion. We can still take actions to avert them . .
“If you think I’m an alarmist about Y2K, consider the following
from the Commish himself. Yes, here is what the Commissioner of
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the IRS told the Wall Street Journal (April 22, 1998) about Y2K:
‘There’s no point in sugarcoating the problem. If we don’t fix
the century-date problem, we will have a situation scarier than
the average disaster movie you might see on a Sunday night.
Twenty-one months from now, there could be 90 million taxpayers who won’t get their refunds, and 95% of the revenue stream of
the United States could be jeopardized.’
“If you think I am overly alarmed, consider this: When asked
about Y2K, Ralph J. Szgenda, the chief information officer of
General Motors, told Fortune (April 27, 1998) that there are ‘catastrophic problems’ in every GM plant. I called the reporter to verify
this shockingly blunt quote and was informed that the word ‘catastrophic’ was repeated several times during the interview with GM’s
top IT man. (In 1997, when Chrysler Corp. turned all the clocks to
December 31, 1999, at its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, the
security system shut down and wouldn’t let anybody out.)— Detroit Free Press, April 23, 1998.”—Ibid [italics his].
Surely, we have been warned to be cautious in these last days.
Satan will devise many ways to entangle us in difficulties, so we
cannot do the work which God has assigned us individually. It is
our prayer that this information may help you avoid needless problems in the days ahead.
CRISES ARE COMING—We received the following letter
from a friend a few months ago:
”As you know, besides the Sunday Law Crisis, there are two
other cmajor crises on the horizon. Both are growing more serious with each passing month. These two crises are:
“(1) The Y2K Computer Crisis. No one knows with any real
certainty how much confsion, disruption, and upheaval this crisis will inflict on American society and on the societies of other
countries around the world after 1 January 2000. Estimates
range from a mild disruption to a massive, serious crisis. No one
knows for sure how many difficulties htis crisis my cause people
when they go to buy or sell. Although efforts to adjust and reprogram computer systems are speeding up,, no one can be sure if
all of the necessary reprogramming will be finished by 1 January 2000.
“(2) The growing economic crises in Russia kand in the Pacific Rim countries like Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and
Malaysia. Thse crises began about a year ago and have simce
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How to Prepare for Y2K
grown deeper and wider.
“The International Monetary Fund is seriously depleted as a
result of trying to stabilize these Asia economies. In addition,
massive unemployment is crippling many of the Pacific Rim countries, not to mention Russia.
“All of thes economic woes will not stay on foreign shores forever. the day will likely come when these foreign economic crises
finally affect the American economya nd slow it down, and maybe
even cause a dserious depression here.
“In light of trhes two looming crises, I believe Adventists should
be giving serious thought to some careful planning and preparedness for the stormy days ahead whilel the American economy
and society are still reltively stabble, and survival infomriatn
and supplies are still avialable and are eaily accessible. My Scriptural basis for this proposal is found in Provebs 22:3: ‘A prudent
man forseeth the evil, and hideth himself, but the simple pass
on and are punished.’
“Once one or more major crises strike America, no one can
know with any cetinty what might happen. At the very least, food
and fuel supples will problably be disrupted. Very possibly, the
crises may produce anarchy, riots, and violenc ein most medium
and large cities. At the very worst, the president may declare a
National State of Emergency by means of an Executive Order,
which could close banks, sotres, and who knows what else—as
well as turn America into a dictatorship with very little freedom.”—Northeast, August 31, 1998.
OUT OF THE CITIES! should be our watchword. OUT OF
THE CITIES should be the example we give to others. Heaven’s
messenger told us so years ago.
GETTING READY—The crisis will begin in January. Know
how to keep your family warm, even without electricity.
Buy the necessities you need, even if the banks are closed or
you cannot get access to your accounts.
Know how to provide emergency protection and medical care,
even if 911 is constantly busy.
Be able to feed your family, even if the grocery shelves are
empty.
Have clean, uncontaminated drinking water on hand, in case
your water treatment plant cannot provide you with any.
A recent article discussed the need to prepare, at least a little
bit, for what is coming:
121
“ ‘If we’re going to recommend people buy gneeators, they’ll
need to get their orders in soon,’ says Mr. [Larry] Burkett. ‘Already, most manufacturers are backlogged. If you call to order
long-term food storage supplies, you’ll find yourself on a waiting
list. A warning is no good if it’s given too late to do anything.’ . .
“Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), who chairs the SEnate Year
2000 Committee, told the National Press Club on July 15, ‘It
might not be a bad idea to have a little extra food and wtaer
around in case the supermarket can’t get its stock for 72 hours
or a week or two because of breakdowns in the transportation
system.’
“What’s significant about that statmeent, Mr. Burkett sys, is
that it’s the first indication, form a top govetrnment official, tht
stocking up on food and water is a good idea . .
“ ‘What can you do now? Lots of things,’ he [Burkett] says. ‘At
the very minimum, have hard copy records of your taxes, your
savings, your investments, your Social Security benefits. You
might have to reconstruct those. If the Social Security system
fails, for example, I bleieve the govetnemtn will require you to
prove you’re entitled to those benefits.’
“And he [Burkett] echoes Senator Bennett’s recommendation
on food storage:
“ ‘It just seems prudent to me to keep some food reserves,’ he
[Bennett] says. ‘It won’t cost you much, if you get a few extra
cans at a time. If nothing happens, you eat it. And gather some
containeers for storing some water. They’re cheap. Maybe buy
some non-electric lanterns. And do it soon, becuase next year at
this time, they’re not going to be available.’ ”—World, August 22,
1998.
EVERYTHING’S ALL RIGHT—America believes it is prepared:
“From a CIO magazine survey of 643 individuals for a Year
2000 Consumer Awareness Study in May 1998:
“38% admit they’re not aware of the year 2000 problem.
“62% know about the problem. Of that number, 50% are not
at all concerned about Y2K afecting them personally, and 80% are
confident the problem will be fixed before the dawn of the millennium.
“Yet CIO’s April 1998 poll of technology and business executives indicated that only 17% were confident the glitch would be
fixed in time.”—PC Magazine, October 6, 1998.
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How to Prepare for Y2K
NOT GETTING READY—Some say there is no problem, that
everyone is just about ready for 2000 to arrive. I have read such
reports; you probably have too. Read this:
“From a survey of 15,000 companies in 87 countries for a
July 1998 report:
“23% of all companies have not started year 2000 efforts.
More than 80% of these are small companies.
“19% of the companies that have started compliance efforts
began face-to-face meetings in 1998 with vendors that provide
mission-critical solutions. These meetings were required, because survey letters proved to be an inaccurate assessment
method.
“50% of all companies do not intend to perform year 2000
testing, because they plan to fix and install code to production
systems.”—PC Magazine, October 6, 1998.
GOING TO HAVE A PARTY—“President Bill Clinton and Vice
President Al Gore say they are building a bridge to the 21st
century. Unfortunately, the bridge could collapse just as the new
millennium begins—because the administration isn’t doing
enough to ensure that the Year 2000 Problem won’t crack the
tchnological foundation of our economy . .
“On February 4, 1998, President Bill Clinton created a Year
2000 Conversion Council at the White House to coordinate the
government’s efforts to head off the problem. Unfortunately, this
is a small step . . The president’s February 4 executive order
limits the council’s mandate to overseeing the Y2K-fixing
progress of the federal government’s executive branch, where the
effort remains decentralized at the agency and departmental
levels.
“Previously, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had
been in charge of overseeing the progress of federal agencies in
fixing the problem. Sally Katzen headed this effort at the OMB’s
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. She had other
responsibilities besides monitoring federal Y2K progress. In
January 1998, she was appointed deputy director of the National
Economic Council.
“The Year 2000 Conversion Council is chaired John
123
Koskinen, deputy director of the OMB . . Mr. Koskinen’s ambitions are limited. He made it very clear, when he was appointed,
that he won’t be the nation’s Y2K czar. He expected to be a ‘coordinator, facilitator, and catalyst’ to reinforce the independent
efforts of the various federal agencies . . ‘I’ll have a very small
staff’ [he said.] . .
“He started [a month later on] March 9, 1998, which suggests
there wasn’t a sense of urgency at the White House about Y2K.
“Indeed, the administration is looking forward to a big party
in 2000. Two days before he set up the Year 2000 Conversion
Council, President Clinton signed an executive order establishing
the White House Millennium Council ‘to recognize national and
local projects that commemorate the millennium in a national
and educational celebration of our culture, democracy, and
citizenry.’ ”—Dr. Edward Yardeni, “Year 2000 Recession?”
It reminds me of Belshazzar, who occupied himself with a
drunken party, while the Persians slipped through gates which
had been left open. History has a way of repeating itself.
GOVERNMENT REPORT CARD—Good news from Washington! The U.S. Government is getting ready for January 1, 2000!
When will it be ready? —Within six months to 20 years after
January 1, 2000!
Based on current rates of progress, 14 federal agencies
report that those of their computers which perform “mission
critical” functions will be fully millennium-compatible by the
following year:
National Air and Space Administration - early 2000.
Federal Emergency Management Agency - mid-2000.
Agency for International Development - mid-2000.
Department of Education - mid-2000.
Department of Justice - 2001.
Department of Health and Human Services - 2001.
General Services Administration - 2002.
Department of the Treasury - 2004.
Department of Agriculture - 2005.
Office of Personal Management - 2010.
Department of Transportation - 2010.
Department of Defense - 2012.
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How to Prepare for Y2K
Department of Labor - 2019.
Department of Energy - 2019.
Hard to believe? The Emergency Management Agency not
prepared for its own emergency? The Agency for International
Development without its own internal development completed in
time? The Office of Personal Management not able to manage its
own personal affairs?
For more on this, we refer you to official documents of the
House Subcommittee on Government Management, Information
and Technology, of the Government Reform and Oversight Committee.
A FEW ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM—On January 12,
1997, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) introduced a bill
in the Senate to establish a bipartisan national commission to
confront the Year 2000 Problem. The preamble warned, “A
devastating computer problem will have extreme negative
economic and national security consequences in the year
2000 and in subsequent years, unless the Federal government addresses and remedies that problem.”
On November 10, 1997, Senator Bob Bennett (R-Ut) introduced a bill in the Senate to require greater Y2K disclosure by
publicly traded companies. In his press release, the Senator
said, “The Year 2000 Problem lies at the heart of our
economy . . To delay our efforts to address this problem is to
be inexcusably reckless.”
In a March 4, 1998, press release, Representative Stephen
Horn (R-CA) said, “It is increasingly clear that a large number
of federal computer systems simply will not be prepared for
the date change on December 31, 1999.”
At a March 18, 1998, meeting of a House committee she
chairs, Representative Constance A. Morella (R-MD) said, “As we
ring in the 21st century, we will be ushering in the mother of
all computer glitches—one which could cripple critical
government functions . .”
As noted elsewhere in this report, in the April 22, 1998,
issue of the Wall Street Journal, IRS Commissioner Charles
Rossotti said, “If we don’t fix the century-date problem, we
will have a situation scarier than the average disaster movie
you might see on a Sunday night.”
125
In a May 15, 1998, memorandum addressed to members of
Congress, Steve Forbes wrote this:
“The Year 2000 (Y2K) computer crisis is now upon us and
the federal government is even more woefully unprepared
than the rest of society. The implications are ominous.
Medicare, the IRS, the Federal Aviation Administration, and
other basic agencies are operating on utterly out-of-date
technology.”
EVEN IF —
“Even if everyone on our small planet did fix Y2K except for a
few key U.S. government agencies, a global recession would still
be a plausible scenario. After all, the federal government accounts
for a great deal of U.S. economic activity, which, in turn, accounts
for a great deal of global economic activity. U.S. federal, state, and
local government spending accounts for 17.5% of real GDP
[gross domestic product]. This percentage is even higher for
most other countries around the world.”—Dr. Edward Yardeni,
“Year 2000 Recession?”
____________
E-mail message, dated March 8, 1999:
“ I received a call from a man this weekend telling me he represented my bank and that they were havng difficulty meeting
requirments to be computer ready for Y2K. He said all bank customers would need to transfer their accounts to a bond account
specially designed to protect our money until the bank could fully
comply with Y2K requirements. He then said that, to verify that he
was talking to the proper account person, I needed to confirm
informationabout myself: my account numbers and then give verbal authoriziatoin to transfer funds to this speically designed
account.
“I don’t trust folks who do this kind of thing, so I asked him
which of the banks I use that he represented. At this point, he
immediately hung up the receiver.
“Please pass this on to friends. This is a scam going all across
the country. Fortunately, I have caller-ID, so I told the phone company about it.”